


Star Wars: Input Error

by Megapanda25



Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Disobeying Orders, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Manipulative Sheev Palpatine, Multi, Order 66, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:30:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 26,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21710785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megapanda25/pseuds/Megapanda25
Summary: Sheev Palpatine had been planning the formation of his Grand Empire for years. He had everything he needed, and with the end of the Clone Wars the galaxy would soon be his to rule.At least, that was the plan. The plan before the inhibitor chips failed. Before the clones rejected Order 66 and saved the Jedi. Before the galaxy changed forever.
Relationships: Barriss Offee/CC-1010 | Fox, CC-1004 | Gree & Luminara Unduli, CC-1004 | Gree/Original Female Character(s), CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-5052 | Bly/Aayla Secura, CT-7567 | Rex/Ahsoka Tano, Doom/Tiplee (Star Wars), Stass Allie/CC-8826 | Neyo
Comments: 197
Kudos: 670
Collections: Captain Rex Stuff, Star Wars





	1. Prologue: An Unpredicted Shift

Commander Thorn was no stranger to diplomatic assignments. After all, he’d been assigned to Senator Amidala since the second year of the Clone Wars. He and his battalion of the Coruscant Guard had been on many a mission of peace instead of war. 

This time, he was escorting Senator Amidala to Scipio where the Banking Clan negotiations were being held. Thus far, the mission had been fairly simple. Something in the back of the commander’s mind, however, seemed to tell him that something was coming...but what? What could possibly go wrong here?

“Commander...commander, look!”

  
Thorn shook his head as he came back to reality, turning back to his fellow trooper and following his pointed finger to one of the many radar screens, which showed a series of vulture droids approaching the Courser they were currently residing in.

“Looks like an invasion fleet, sir!” A second trooper shouted, coexing a growl from the commander as he hefted his Z-6 rotary cannon and booking it towards the exit ramp.

“And we’re sitting duck.”

He made it outside within seconds, quickly flagging down his fellow troopers and pointing towards the city gates.

“Get everyone you can, and get to the city!” He barked, sending the troopers to action. As he charged towards the door, attempting to hail Senator Amidala all the way.

“Senator Amidala...Padme, come in!” He hissed into his comm, being met with only silence until finally, a familiar voice rang through. 

_“What is it, Commander Thorn?"_ Padmé Amidala asked, her tone simultaneously confused and surprised.

"We're under attack by the Separatist garrison. Looks to be a full invasion!" Thorn explained, now about halfway across the landing pad with about half of his brothers running alongside him, some of whom were also firing at the now dive bombing droids.

_"Invasion?!"_ The senator cried.

"We can't get to you, ma’am!” Thorn responded, hefting his cannon and firing a few stray shots towards a now approaching waves of droids. “I suggest you get to a ship as soon as you can!”

Any further dialogue was ended as a blaster bolt collided with Thorn’s gauntlet, shattering his commlink. The commander turned towards the shot, and let out a sharp _“SHIT!”_ as a Commando Droid lunged towards him, only for another bolt to collide with its head and send it spralling, followed by a hand gripping Thorn’s shoulder and hauling him past the now closing city gates. 

“Turner, get that damn door closed!” Whichever trooper that was pulling Thorn shouted. “Gears, on me! Find us a way inside!”

“Sir, yes sir!” The clone engineer shouted in response, before nodding to his commander. “Good to see you made it, sir.” 

“Likewise, rookie.” Thorn responded humorously, before a sharp crack from behind him which made all troopers present turn around. A red blade pierced the metal of the blast doors, slowly working it’s way down the metal. “All troopers, defensive positions!”

The soldiers did as ordered, though there was little cover between them and the doors. Still they did what they could, and trained their blasters on the ever growing cut on the door. Thorn himself lifted his cannon and waited for the door to open.

“Get ready, boys!”

Those words were the last sound Thorn heard before the cut section of metal suddenly flew towards him, colliding with his head, and sending his world into darkness.

\-------------

Line Break

\-------------

“Commander? Commander, can you hear me?”  
  


Thorn’s eyes opened slowly, blinking behind his cracked visor as a clone trooper crouched in front of him, scanning him for injuries while another knelt above him. After a few seconds, Thorn recognized the kneeling clone as Rex, a captain of the 501st legion. 

“R-rex?” He asked, shocked with how hard it was to say a single word. His entire head felt like it was on fire, not that his body was in any less pain. However, the word was enough to catch the captain’s attention.

“Thron, are you alright? Can you move?” He asked, attempting to pull the shock trooper to his feet before the medic stopped him.

“Wait, sir! I think the commander might have a concussion. Give me a few moments, I’ll see what I can do.” The medic explained, helping his captain lower Thorn back to the ground. While his head still spun, Thorn was gradually coming back to reality, noticing the fallen droids and clones alike surrounding him.

“M-my team…” He muttered, turning his head to Rex in question. “W-where is m-my t-team?”

Rex was silent for a moment, averting his gaze before answering softly.

“We only found one other trooper who was still alive.” He admitted, his voice laced with both shame and despair. “I’m sorry, Thorn.”

For his part, the shock trooper couldn’t say a word. Sure, clones died. That was the job, after all; die for the Republic. But his men? The men he had trained with and worked alongside for years? He never expected to actually lose them.

“Sir, I’m afraid that you might have extensive injuries.” The medic informed him, before digging through his medpack and pulling out a syringe. “I’m going to have to put you under. You’re going to be alright.”

Any other thoughts residing in Thorn’s mind began to fade as the needle entered his arm, and his eyes fluttered closed. As he drifted off, his final though echoed in his head, desperate and remorseful. 

_I failed my brothers._

\-------------

Line Break

\-------------

Slowly, Thorn’s eyes flickered open, His vision returning as the bright white lights above him faded. He sat up cautiously, and glanced around at his surroundings. 

He was in a medical bay, one which looked to be on a Venator. He looked to his right and gasped sharply as he spotted Gears, who was lying a few beds away from him, eyes closed.

“G-gears?”

The engineer didn’t respond, though his expression shifted to recognition at the sound of his commander’s voice. Before Thorn could voice another query, the door at the end of the hall opened, and Captain Rex stepped in. When he noticed the commander, he smiled lightly and approached him.

“Ah, you’re awake. How are you feeling, commander?” 

“I’m...I’m alright.” Thorn answered after a few seconds of consideration. “Still feeling a bit stiff, but I’m in one piece.” 

  
“Not for lack of trying, clearly.” Rex snarked earning a chuckle from the shock trooper before his expression hardened. “I’m...sorry about your men.”

Thorn’s heart sank once more at the realization that he and Gears were all that was left of his battalion. He tried his hardest to keep his tone neutral, but he couldn’t hide the waiver that his voice carried as he responded.

“It’s alright, sir. After all, it’s what we’re made for.”

While Rex’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes seemed a bit sadder than before. However, the subjected changed as Rex turned to the table next to Thorn’s bed.

“Well, you’ll get some well-deserved rest once we arrive at Coruscant.” He assured the commander, even managing a second small smile. “From what I hear, Senator Amidala is planning to recommend you for several commendations.”

“Oh.”

It was the only a single word, but it carried an unusual amount of weight, as if the now luminescent blush on the commander’s face weren’t a big enough red flag. Rex smirked knowingly, and crossed his arms as he leaned on the table.

“She was quite worried about you, you know.” He mused, smiling all the while. “Even insisted on visiting you before she left with General Skywalker.”

“S-she’s just being kind.” Thorn insisted, still blushing furiously. “It’s in her nature. She’s...she’s a good friend.”

To his relief, Thorn’s rebuttal seemed to placate the 501st captain, though he still smiled nonetheless.

“Well, if you say so.” Rex accepted, before standing up and heading for the door. “I’ll let you get some rest before we arrive.”

Rex paused as he reached the door, and turned back to face Thorn a final time, an odd look on his face like he was debating something.

“Before I go,I need to ask. Do you feel any...different?”

Thorn quirked an eyebrow at the captain, and shrugged his shoulders loosely. 

“I mean...not particularly.” He confessed, before tilting his in thought. “I guess my head feels a little...clearer? Maybe that's just from the meds.”

There was a shift in Rex’s expression, one almost imperceptible. Thorn didn’t have too long to study it as the captain simply nodded his head and left with a soft, “Maybe”. Somewhere in the back of his mind, however, Thorn swore that the look had been of hope.

He lay back down into his bed, and closed his eyes in an attempt to fall back to sleep. Yet as he drifted off once more, he couldn’t help but feel the slightest sense of unease, as if something had changed. Something...important. And yet, he couldn’t quite place it. 

These thoughts lingered until finally, the Force granted him peace, and Thorn fell back asleep as the Venator soared through hyperspace back to Coruscant.


	2. The Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has come.

“Almost there, Rexer! You still with me?” Ahsoka Tano yelled, deflecting two shots from a Mandalorian soldier back to sender and sending him sprawling.

“We’ve come this far, General!” Rex responded, smirking at the returned jedi pointedly. “It’d be a damn shame if I tapped out now!”

Ahsoka returned the captain’s smile, before advancing further on the retreating mandalorian soldiers. The battle of Mandalore and swung sharply into the Republic’s favor after the return of the Jedi Pawdawan, who now led the change against the Shadow Collective alongside the newly formed 332nd legion and Bo-Katan's Deathwatch. 

“Jesse, what the status of the west landing pad?” Rex asked over the comms, receiving a response seconds later from his ARC trooper comrade.

“ _We’ve just finished clearing it.”_ Jesse answered. “ _Do you need Kix or Coric for your wounded?”_

“Negative. We’ll just divert them to you.” Rex explained, before joining his general at the end of The bridge that they had been clearing. “General, we’ve taken the last landing pad.”

  
“Perfect. Maul’s got nowhere to run now.” She acknowledged, shooting her friend another smile. “For my last mission, this is going wonderfully.”

While the words were meant to keep morale boosted, Ahsoka didn’t miss the way Rex’s shoulders sank when she reminded him that this arrangement was temporary. She was only temporarily back in the Jedi order. Once the operation was over, she’d leave again.

“Of course, ma’am.” He muttered, before snapping back to action and pulling out his commlink. “So, what’s our next move, General?”

Ahsoka opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off as Rex’s commlink squawked to life. She then realized that it wasn’t just Rex’s link either, as the commlinks of every other clone in the vicinity also clicked to life. After a few seconds of unnerving silence, three words left the speaker. Three. Words.

“ _Execute Order 66.”_

The words hung in the air like a death sentence, heavy and threatening. Ahsoka wasn’t aware of how much time had passed when she heard the distinct whirr of blasters humming to life. She turned around to find about a dozen clones formed in a semi-circle around her, every single one of them aiming at her.

“W-what are you doing?!” She asked, finding herself at the edge of the bridge as the clones inched closer. The lead clone answered, his voice cold and full of unexplainable aggression.

“Good soldiers follow orders.”

And with that, he fired his weapon. Ahsoka flinched as she heard the impact, but realized that it hadn’t hit her. Instead, Rex now stood in front of her, a single smoking spot in the center of his chestplate. His pistols were trained on his own men, a pained growl slipping past his lips as he addressed them.

“Stand down troopers, that’s an order!” He barked, standing his ground as the troopers advance further.

“Good soldiers follow orders.” The trooper repeated, though this time his voice sounded...strained. As if the words hurt to say. Still, the blasters stayed trained on the jedi and captain.

“Good soldiers follow _good orders_!” Rex retorted, taking a step forward. “You all know that these orders are wrong! The Jedi are not our enemy!”

As Ahsoka processed the captain’s words, she also took in the troopers themselves. Some of the troopers had started shaking, their hands clutch the blasters tightly. A single trooper had even lowered his rifle and started clutching his head.

“You are my brothers, you are better than this!” Rex continued, lowering his pistols as he spoke. “You would never betray our generals. We’ve gone through hell together. They would never abandon us, and we will **not** abandon them! Your orders are wrong, and you know it!”

A tense silence followed the captain’s declaration. What could have been minutes just as well could have been seconds, but it mattered not. Slowly, almost painfully, the troopers weapons clattered to the ground. Some of the clones shed their helmets and fell to their knees, others simply looked at their weapons with hidden expressions of horror and disgust. Rex turned back around to address his Jedi friend, only for her to ask the very question that must have been on every Jedi’s mind at that single moment.

“What the hell is going on?”

\--------------

Line Break

\--------------

Commander Bly’s hands shook as he raised his rifle, training it on Aayla Secura’s back. He desperately fought for control of his body, attempting to stop what was about to occur with every ounce of force within.

_Good soldiers follow orders._

_FUCK. ORDERS._ Bly spat at the cold voice that echoed in his mind. He managed a glance at his brothers, and while their expressions were hidden behind their visors, he knew they were just as panicked as he was. Suddenly, his finger met the trigger.

“ **GENERAL!** ”

Aayla whipped around as the first shot connected with her left shoulder, sending her to the ground. She watched in horror as her men aimed at her, and shot again.

Her arms.

Her legs.

Her stomach.

Her body radiated with pain to the point where the point of breathing hurt to an unbearable degree. She watched through tear-filled eyes as Bly, her faithful commander, leveled his rifle on her head. Maybe it was the tears, but she swore that his hands were...wait. What was he doing?

While Aayla couldn’t see what her commander was doing, it mattered little as she dropped out of consciousness. Her head hit the ground, followed by a chorus of blasters and rifles following.

  
“P-patch.” Bly managed, his voice a twisted mix of pain and guilt. “Someone find Patch. Now.”

The soldiers separated, some of whom slouched against their now halted vehicle convoy. Others simply tried to distract themselves from the act they had just committed. Bly knelt next to his commander all the while, tears streaming down his face as he silently muttered a prayer to the force that his general would live.

\--------------

Line Break

\--------------

Gree didn’t hate Kashyyyk. He didn’t love it either. 

As he sat above the raging battle alongside General Yoda and the Wookie warriors, he scanned the battlefield for a certain someone. Eventually, his gaze settled on who he was searching for. 

Luminara Unduli cut down battle droids with grace and ease, supporting his brothers to the best that she could. As he watched, he could have sworn her eyes flicked up to meet his. He also swore she smiled.

“Fine, she will be, Commander.” 

Gree couldn’t help but jump as he realized that the short green Jedi master had appeared next to him. He hastily snapped to attention, desperately trying to hide his blush despite his helmet. 

“O-of course, General.” He practically sputtered, before composing himself. “Just...observing the battle.”

Yoda chuckled, but did not press further as he walked back over to his Wookie allies. 

“Trust in the force, we must.” He stated, leaning on his cane as he gazed at the distant beaches. “Win this battle, we will.”

“I certainly hope so, sir.” Gree agreed, unclipping his humming comm from his belt and activating it. “I really-”

“ _Execute Order 66_.”

And just like that, Gree’s mind went completely blank. He turned on his heel, and let his hand drop down to his holstered DC-17. He glanced at his fellow trooper-Scout, if he recalled-, and noticed that he had also grabbed his blaster.

_W-what is going on? What’s happening?_

The thoughts seemed to echo in Gree’s mind as he stepped towards the general, now raising his pistol slowly. 

_No. No no no no no nO NO NO! STOP, STOP!_

_Good soldiers follow orders._

_No, no! What orders? Why am I-_

_Good soldiers follow orders._

_KRIFF, JUST STOP!_

**_GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS._ **

He was behind Yoda now, Scout next to him. Their blasters were both trained on the Jedi’s back. He hadn’t moved since they advanced on him.

_Please, please, I don’t want to do this I don’t want to kill him._

**_Good soldiers follow orders._ **

And then he was gone. The general was in the air, lightsaber burning green as he cut their weapons against and pushing them back with the force. Gree collided with the bullhead hard, and felt the air leave his lungs. As he hit the ground he glanced at Scout, who was unconscious.

_Good...good. We can’t hurt him._

Gree’s head met the splintered wood, casting a single, mournful look at General Yoda, who looked just as bad as Gree felt as he was picked up by one of the Wookies and guided to safety.

_Please...please let the generals be safe. Please…_

With those final thoughts, Gree drifted off into unconsciousness as the battle of Kashyyyk raged on.

\--------------

Line Break

\--------------

“Doom? Are you alright?” 

The words didn’t quite registar in the commander’s mind as he watched generals Tiplee and Stass Allie turn to address him. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and noticed that Neyo and his men had dismounted their speeders and make their way towards the unsuspecting generals.

_Good soldiers follow orders._

“F-fine, general.” He ground out from behind clenched teeth, barely restrain the urge to wrap his hands around the Jedi’s throat and _squeeze-_

“NEYO!”

Doom and Tiplee both jumped before following the shout to the other Jedi, who was now kneeling next to her commander, who was wheezing in pain.

“General...you need...to get away…” He hissed, pulling away from the general’s caring hands.

“Neyo, what are you-” Stass started, before she cut herself off with a sharp inhale and doubled over in apparent pain. Doom soon realized that Tiplee was no better, ragged breaths exiting her mouth as she held herself up on a crate.

“S-so many deaths…” She whimpered, clutching her head. “H-how...how is this happening?”

Doom stepped forward, and put a hand on the general’s shoulder. She looked up at him, eyes slick with tears, and realized that his hand was shaking.

“Ma’am. You need. To leave.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the hum of a blaster caught both of the Jedi's attention. One of Neyo’s men was aiming for Stass, rifle trembling in his hands. The Jedi's eyes went wide, and she held up a hand to shield herself before a loud “STOP!” cut through the air.

As she lowered her hand, Stass realized that Neyo was now standing in front of her, having torn the rifle from his soldiers hands. He turned around, and despite his eyes being hidden behind that cold black visor, she could practically hear the tears falling from them as he spoke.

“We can’t-can’t stop, ma’am.” He sputtered, before hefting her to her feet and shoving her away. “You need t-to go. If you don’t...w-we can’t…”

Any other words the commander had died in his throat as he shook his head and turned away, chucking the rifle off into the distance. Tiplee rose back to her feet, and looked one last time into Doom’s eyes.

She looked terrified and lost. Just like after her sister had died. Doom wanted to wrap her into a hug, to tell her he was sorry for failing her, for falling Tiplar...but he knew that if he took one more step towards her, he’d lose control. So he did the only other thing he could. 

“Leave. Please. Tiplar would want you to be safe.”

\--------------

Line Break

\--------------

“By the way, I think you’ll be needing this, sir.” Cody snarked as he extended his hand to General Kenobi, who took the lightsaber from the commander’s hand with a thankful smile.

“Thank you, Cody.” He thanked, before turning back towards the raging battle around them with a thin smile. “Now let’s get a move on, we’ve got a battle to win here!”

“Yes sir!” The commander of the 212th shouted, before the pair separated. A fresh AT-TE landed behind the defending troopers, just in time to mow down another advancing wave of droids. “Whooly, get on that gun!”

“Sir, yes sir!” The trooper shouted, before booking it towards the walker. Cody moved among his men, picking off whatever droids he could. _Just a bit longer…_

Suddenly, Cody’s comm chirped. He quirked an eyebrow and pulled in off his belt, turning it on.

“ _Commander Cody, the time has come. Execute Order 66.”_

Just liked that, Cody completely blanked. The entire battle around him seemed to disappear. There was only one though bouncing around in his head.

_Good soldiers follow orders._

“It will be done, my lord.”

Cody turned the commlink off, and turned around, watching the retreating form of Kenobi’s mount. He turned to the AT-TE, and just like that, he came back to reality just in time to realize what was about to happen.

_No._

“Blast him!” He shouted, the words shooting out before Cody could stop them. 

_NO._

Whooly took aim from above the cannon, and without a second thought, fired.

The blast impact hit right next to the creature the Jedi had been riding, and destabilized it enough so that it fell from the ledge it had been riding on, sending both the beast and the Jedi plummeting into the cavern below. 

As he watched the general- _his_ general-fall, something within Cody screamed in pain. But he turned back around, and he rejoined his brothers as they clashed with the droids. He pushed back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes, and he fought. As he did so, one last thought left his mind.

_I’m so sorry sir._

\---------------

Line Break

\---------------

Fox marched through the detention center, his fist clenched in concentration. His fellow shock troopers ran past him, either grabbing blasters or electro staffs from the many weapon racks as they did so. He came to a stop as a voice called his name from behind him.

“Fox, Fox!” Thorn called out, running up to his fellow commander, flanked by Gears and another trooper. Skids, was it? “What the hell is going on?! Are we under attack?”

Fox was a bit surprised no one had informed the other commander of the situation, and turned fully in the direction of his brothers in order to explain. 

“Order 66 has been issued.”

Thorn and Gears glanced at each other, and while their expressions were hidden behind their helmets, Fox could tell something was wrong. He was promptly informed of what.

“I’m sorry, what’s Order 66?”


	3. Planning for the worst.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The darkest day has arrived.

“I can’t believe this.” Ahsoka stated, staring at the ground as she sat on a stack of crates laying on the west landing pad. Frankly, Rex couldn’t blame her. It was a lot to take in. “Chancellor Palpatine has been manipulating the war this whole time?”  
  


“To my knowledge, yes.” Rex confirmed. “I only found out after Fives and Tup died. They said it was complications with their canteens, but it just didn’t sit right with me. So, I started digging. And I found these.”

Rex opened his hand and dropped a small chip into Ahsoka’s open palm. She examined it, noting the small, pinkish blob in the center. 

“What is it?” She asked softly, before handing it back to the captain as he explained.

“It’s the thing that nearly forced us to shoot you.” He explained, noting the way she flinched at the reminder. “It’s called an inhibitor chip. I got mine removed, and I managed to convince a few of the other commanders to remove theirs as well.”

“Who?”

It was a fair question, but it took Rex a few seconds to answer. 

“Wolffe, Jesse, Kix, a few of the ARCs, Blanc, and Thorn.” He listed. “Also, a few wounded troopers here and there.”

“So...how did they resist it?” Ahsoka asked, nodding towards a gaggle of troopers standing nearby, eyeing their discarded weapons dangerously. Rex shot them a knowing glare, and the soldiers quickly dispersed to patrol the area.

“Sheer will, I suppose.”

“Captain!” A trooper interjected, saluting his superiors as he approached. “We got you your secure line.”

“Excellent.” Rex acknowledged, before turning back to Ahsoka. “General, I need to make a call.”

“Ok, I’ll just...stay here, then.” She muttered, before flashing Rex a weak grin. “And it’s Ahsoka, Rex. At this point, formalities are meaningless.”

Rex didn’t respond, but returned the the Jedi’s smile before starting for the waiting gunship that had landed nearby. After stepping inside it, the shutters closed and the comm system activated. Seconds later, five of his brothers were projected around him.

The “secure comm” had been set up after the events on Umbra, and was connected to every clone commander of a frontlines legion. So far, only Cody, Gree, Bly, Doom, and Neyo signed in. 

“ _So...you were right.”_ Cody growled, his cold and distant _. “We were being manipulated from the start._ ”

“ _I’m sorry I didn’t listen sooner, Rex._ ” Gree apologised, his voice softer than his 212th brother’s. “ _I-I just never thought that...that we’d do this. That this would happen.”_

“It’s not your fault, Gree.” Rex comforted, scanning the eyes of all of his brothers. “It’s none of you faults.”

  
“ _What’s our game plan?”_ Bly asked, hands still shaking despite his straight posture.

“We get the generals as far away as possible, and get them together somewhere safe.” Rex explained, before sighing. “Have...have any of you killed your Jedi?”

A hush crossed the room, and the brothers all watched each other diligently. Finally, Cody sighed and nodded in defeat.

_“Whooly shot at General Kenobi with an AT-TE, and knocked him into the pit on Utapau.”_ He confessed, rubbing his eyes. “ _We haven’t found a body yet, but...I don’t know.”_

Rex nodded sadly, and offered the commander a brief sympathetic smile.

“Don’t lose hope, Cody. Kenobi’s survived worse.” Rex comforted, before turning back to his other brothers. “What’s the status of other generals?”

“ _General Secula...is stable.”_ Bly explained, voice shaking ever so slightly. “ _As soon as she’s conscious, we’re sending her to Polis Massa for further treatment.”_

Rex didn’t ask for clarification, the pain in his eyes explained enough. “Well then, it’s settled. If you still have their contacts, inform the Jedi to meet at Polis Massa. Who else is there?”

For the first time since the meeting started, Neyo spoke up. 

  
“ _General’s Allie and Tiplee...are still present._ ”

All eyes immediately snapped to both Neyo and Doom. 

  
“ _What in the hell are you two thinking?!”_ Gree hissed, only for Doom to tear of his helmet and glare murderously at his brother.

“ _They. Won’t. Leave.”_ He stated, his words slow and chipped, as if every single one took an enormous amount of force to say. “ _T_ _hey refuse to leave us behind.”_

“Well, convince them!” Rex shouted, before lowering his tone. “Tell them about Polis Massa. You have to get them away from any clones!”

“ ** _WE’VE BEEN TRYING!_ ** _”_

All troopers present jumped in shock from the roar that left Neyo’s mouth, none of them hearing him raising his voice like that before. After a few ragged breaths, the 91st commander continued.

“ _We’ve been trying, b-but they just refuse to leave us.”_ He whispered. “ _We’ll tell them about Polis Massa...I just hope it works.”_

Another lapse of silence crossed the threshold before Rex spoke up.

  
“Alright. We all have our missions. Let’s save who we can.”

No more words were exchanged as the projections faded away, leaving Rex alone in the cold, dark gunship. For a moment, he let his head fall into his hands and allowed a few tears fall from his eyes. 

He could only imagine the pain his brothers were going through, the pain they felt having to be out of control, having to attack and kill the people they’ve served with for years. People they cared about.

  
People they loved.

“Rex? Are you alright in there?”

The 501st captain composed himself, and turned to face Ahsoka as the gunship doors opened, forcing a smile to his face.

“Of course, Ahsoka. I’m fine.” He lied, before his smile feel and he continued. “Actually, I have something I need to tell you.”

\--------------

Line Break

\--------------

“Commander, what are your orders?”

Thorn snapped back to reality and hastily addressed his fellow shock troopers as they reached the transit center outside of the Chancellor's office, tasked with defending the area incase of any rouge Jedi.

_Rogue Jedi._ The words still felt wrong to Thorn. _How did a Jedi go rogue? How did ALL Jedi go rogue?_

“Sweep the area, look for anyone or thing that seems out of place.” He ordered, before sternly adding onto his previous order. “And stun only. No kill shots on my mission.”

If any of the troopers had differing opinions, they didn’t voice them. Instead, they separated and joined up into teams of two and began pacing the area. Thorn turned to Gears, and nodded to the left side of the port. His brother seemed to understand the message, and followed the commander along the pathway.

“So, what do you make of this, boss?” Gears asked as they patrolled. “I mean, with the Jedi and such.”

“Honestly? I don’t believe a word of it.” Thorn confessed as he scanned the shadowed pass they traveled. “Somethings not right, but I just can’t place what-”

Thorn’s words died in his throat as one of the shadows trained his weapon on it, revving the barrel of his Z-6 in warning. 

“Hey, stop!” He shouted. His voice must have carried enough authority, because the shadow did indeed stop. It then became illuminated in a purple glow following a distinct _hiss_ as Thorn realized that the shadow...was a Jedi.

“Oh, kriff.”


	4. Goodbyes P1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The clones must say goodbye to their generals.

The first thing Aayla Secura registered as she woke up was the Force screaming in pain.

She physically flinched as she felt the deaths of hundreds reverberate through the Force like a shockwave of death and misery. 

_How?_ She asked, pleading for the pain to stop its assault. _How is this possible? What could have done this?_ _  
  
_

She sat up slowly, a new wave of pain radiating from her arms and legs. She pushed through it, and scanned her surroundings. She was in the _Liberty’s_ medical center. Around her sat a series of other medical beds and equipment, a few chairs, Commander Bly, and-

Aayla froze as the realization hit her that she wasn’t alone. Her gaze flicked back to Bly, and she realized that he was sleeping in one of the chairs surrounding her bed. Initially, the sight of her commander calmed her, and the pain ceased.

And then she remembered how she got there.

“ **_GENERAL!_ ** _”_

She lurched backward violently, away from the trooper-no, the _traitor_ before her. Unfortunately, her movement was enough to wake the sleeping man, whose eyes snapped open. Aayla desperately glanced around, searching for her lightsaber, searching for an escape, anything to get away from-

“Aayla?”

Just like that, she froze again. His voice- _Bly’s voice-_ sounded so...broken. She turned back to him, and met his gaze. By the Force, his eyes were even sadder. 

“B-Bly?”

He flinched as she said his name, and he even took a step back. She could feel the emotions radiating from his form.

_Guilt_

_Remorse_

_Relief_

_...Love._

“I-I’m sorry, ma’am.” He whispered, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks. “I couldn’t...none of us could stop...I’m so damn sorry…”

In the three years that Aayla had served alongside Bly, she’d never once seen him cry. Not even on their darkest days. He was always strong for her, and for the 327th. Seeing him cry now made her decide that she definitely hated it.

“Bly.” She addressed him. He flinched again, but when she motioned for him to come closer, he didn’t object. “It’s not your fault. I know you’d never hurt me on purpose.”

If Bly had anything to say in rebuttal, he didn’t end up saying it. Instead, he fell to his knees and openly wept, clutching his general’s hand, and desperately begging for forgiveness. 

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“Commander, we haven’t found the general’s body yet.” Airhead reported, frowning beneath his airborn grade helmet. “Should we keep looking?”

“No. At this point, there’s nothing worth finding.” Cody responded coldly. “Tell the men to start packing up, we’re due back at _The Negotiator II_ within the hour.”  
  


“Yes, sir. I’ll spread the word.” The trooper replied, before leaving the commander to his devices. Boil stepped forward in turn, and glanced around before speaking.

“Um, sir? Are you...doing alright?” He asked cautiously, as if the words were a damnation of some kind. Cody barely restrained a sigh, and instead clapped his brother’s shoulder, forcing a temporary smile to his face. 

“I’ll be fine, Boil.” He lied, hoping to calm any worries in the sergeant's mind. “Get back to the gunships, I’ll meet you there.”

Boil simply nodded in response, and started making his way back towards the landing zone. As soon as the clone was out of sight, Cody slumped onto one of the crates he had been standing next to and released and heavy, shuddering sigh.

The 212th had destroyed the last of the droids occupying Utapau, and after reporting as much were being called back to Coruscant for “reassignment”. Cody didn’t like the sound of that, not one bit. Worse yet, command demanded to see Kenobi’s body. Cody insisted it wasn’t necessary.

“General...I’m sorry.” He muttered to himself. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. We were just supposed to win the war. It shouldn’t have to cost you your life, especially not like that.”

“Oh, I can assure you I’m not fond of the thought either.”

The words made Cody jump, and as he turned around the sight of who spoke them shocked him even more. Standing in front of him, soaked robes and all, was a very angry looking Obi-Wan Kenobi.

“What is going on, Cody?”

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\--------------

Gree was not having a good day. Not. At. All.

“You cannot possibly be _this_ stupid, commander!” The new officer growled, his tone authoritative and posh. “I am simply asking where your Jedi generals went!”

“And I am simply telling you, _sir,_ that we do not know.” The 41st commander responded, desperately trying to keep his hands from shaking. It had been happening more and more since...since the order. “All of my men were either busy fighting, or incapacitted. I’m afraid the Jedi just slipped past us.”  
  


“Unbelievable.” The man scoffed, shaking his head in disappointment. “Well, I suppose we’ll just increase patrol’s for the time being. Please note that I will recommend a demerit be added to your record for this inconvenience, CC-1004.”

“It’s Gree.”

The entire bridge crew froze as the officer slowly raised his gaze back to the defiant trooper.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” The officer asked, his calm tone barley matching his beat red face with anger.

“My name is Gree, _sir._ ” The commander repeated, still glaring at the other man with untold anger. “And the Jedi would have gotten that right.”

“Perhaps they would have.” A third voice countered from behind them. “But the Jedi are gone, aren’t they?”

Gree turned around and came face to face with another officer, a female one. Her blue eyes locked with his momentarily before darting to the officer behind him, sharpening.

“Ah, Corsley. Good to see you’ve been keeping my seat warm.”

“E-excuse me?” Corsley sputtered, his face burning an ever brighter shade of red.

“You’ve been transferred to the 21st Nova Corps.” The new officer explained, smirking slightly as she patted the man’s shoulder. “I hear they love order as you do. I’m sure you’ll fit in wonderfully. Get a move on, now. They don’t like to be kept waiting.”

The other man only managed a thin “Y-yes ma’am” before storming off of the bridge. Gree himself managed a smile before turning back to his new officer, noticing she was speaking again. “I apologize for my fellow officer’s attitude, he doesn’t have much respect for your line of work. Anyways, whom shall I be working with?”

“CC-1004, reporting for duty, ma’am.” Gree reported before snapping into a sharp salute.

  
The new officer rolled her eyes, and shook her head in what seemed to be both disbelief and amusement. 

“I meant your name, Gree.” She explained, smiling slightly. “And I will address you as such.”

“Oh. Er, yes ma’am.” Gree replied, surprised with the respect this new officer was showing. Usually, non-clone officers tended to be rude or generally dismissive to their clone counterparts. “What should I call you, ma’am?”

The woman’s smile widened, and her eyes twinkled in amusement. “For starters, you can call me Admiral Holden. Let’s work up from there.”

Gree mirrored the woman’s smile, and decided that his day just might be getting better. The feeling only seemed to grow as an unregistered gunship zipped past their perimeter and jumped to hyperspace without being intercepted.

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“So...this is really goodbye?”

  
Doom barley held back a flinch at his general’s words, somehow sounding both hollow and full of emotion all at once. He turned to her, and nodded his head sadly. 

“I’m afraid so, ma’am.” He confirmed, shifting to adjust his helmet’s position under his arm. “You’re not safe around us, not until we get these damn chips out of our heads.”

“I see.” Tiplee muttered, rubbing her arm and averting her eyes. “Well, once you do that, I...I order you to come visit me!”

That actually made Doom laugh. Not the order itself, but the childish nature it seemed to exemplify. 

  
“Of course, general. As soon as we’re in proper shape.” He replied, still chuckling a bit. This made his general perk up visibly, and before he knew what was happening, she leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek before wrapping him into a hug.

“I’m gonna miss you, Doom.” She whispered, her voice simultaneously weak and certain. Doom slowly returned the hug, and muttered four words in response.

“I’ll miss you too.”

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“So, do you want to break up the lover-birds, or should I?”

Stass Allie couldn’t help but chuckle at her commander’s expected cynical humor. She was going to miss that. Miss _him_.

“Let them have their time together, Neyo.” She mused understandingly, before shooting him a small smile. “And that’s quite bold of you to call _them_ love birds.”

  
“I’m not sure what you mean, ma’am.” Neyo retorted, though the smile on his face betrayed him. Stass just laughed, before leaning over and kissing her commander’s cheek. Unlike Doom, Neyo immediately became a blushing mess, managing a quick, “We’ll miss you, sir”, before shoving his bucket back on and stepping out of her way.

Stass then entered her Delta-7 starfighter, glancing at her fellow Jedi’s fighter and realizing that Tiplee was also ready to go. With a nod of confirmation, the two took off, and left the Republic camp behind. Neyo and Doom stood next to each other, watching their Jedi soar away to safety.

“You think they’ll make it?” Doom asked, almost desperately. For once, Neyo decided to play the optimist.

“I know they will, brother.”


	5. Goodbyes P2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The clones say goodbye to their Jedi.

“You can’t be serious!” Ahsoka protested as she walked alongside Rex towards the northern landing pad, Jesse trailing behind the pair while dispensing orders to the rest of the troopers. “I’m not leaving you guys! We need to figure out what’s going on, how to stop it!”  
  


“Ahsoka, we know what’s going on, and how to stop it.” Rex countered sternly, keeping his gaze forward as he continued to march. “Every second you’re around us is putting you in danger. Help us by getting yourself to safety.”  
  


The Jedi scoffed in disbelief, and stepped in front of the advancing captain, stopping him in his tracks.

“You guys are my family!” She insisted with a scowl. “I’m willing to risk staying around!”  
  


“ **And I’m not.** ”

Ahsoka was not ready for the audible anger in the captain’s tone, nor for the infuriated glare he fixed her with after removing his helmet. Brown eyes bore into blue for several seconds before Rex finally broke eye contact with a heavy sight.

“I’m not willing to risk your life for ours. None of us are.” He reiterated. Ahoska glanced around, and realized that many of the clones around were nodding in agreement. Slowly, almost painfully, she sighed and hung her head in defeat.

“Ok.” She whispered, before raising her voice slightly. “Ok, I’ll-I’ll go. When should I leave?”

“Your ride will be here any second.” Rex replied, meeting her shocked expression with a small smile. “You know me, always one to plan ahead, ma’am.”

A weak chuckle slipped past Ahsoka’s lips, and she wiped the forming tears from her eyes.

“Yes you are, Rexer.” She agreed. “Yes you are.”

A few seconds later, a Y-Wing rounded past one of the outer-perimeter towers, and landed on the pad in front of them. A pilot jumped from the cockpit and walked up to the Jedi and captain, salute the pair when he got close enough.

“General, captain.” He greeted, before turning to the Jedi specifically. “Name’s Jager, ma’am. I’m your ride to Polis Massa.”

“Pleased to meet you.” She said in return with a lopsided grin. “Though I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“Jager, fuel up. I’m gonna brief the general.” Rex ordered, ignoring the look of confusion he received from the Jedi in question. Jager just nodded, and turned back to his bomber. “Ma’am, the boys and I...we, er, we wanted you to have something.”

Rex extended his hand, and dropped a pendant into the Jedi’s waiting one. She turned it over, and allowed another chuckle as she read the inscription on the back.

_Property of the 501st Legion. If lost, please return to Torrent Company, Jedi included._

“I’m going to miss you, Ahsoka.” Rex confessed, barley keeping his composer. It became even harder when Ahsoka lurched into his arms, wrapping him into a tight hug.

“I’ll miss you, too.”

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“Hey, what are you doing back here?” Chopper asked as the astromech flying General Kenobi’s fighter landed on the eastern pad. He was promptly told that she was to wait for the general until he arrived. “Sorry, bot. Your Jedi isn’t coming back.”

The droid made a sound of confusion, and the trooper started to clarify before a voice behind him interrupted.

“I hate to interrupt, but I’m actually late for a meeting.” Obi-Wan Kenobi snarked, leveling his lightsaber on the troopers back. “Step aside please, Chopper.”

“Sir?” The stunned trooper asked, before hastily moving out of the way. Kenobi simply nodded to the trooper before entering his fighter, and taking off into the now purple sky. Chopper jumped as a hand suddenly met his shoulder, turning his head to see a grinning Commander Cody.

“Oi, Chop? That didn’t happen. Understood?”

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“Are you sure this is the only way, Bly?” Aalya asked as she stopped outside her starfighter, her astromech humming in excitement.

  
“Until these chips are out of our head, you’re not safe around us.” Bly confirmed, smiling sadly at his general. The rest of the men had refused to see her off, most due to shame. Others due to pure sadness. “We’ll find you when it’s all over, though. I promise.”

  
“Very well. I’ll be counting down the seconds, my friend.” Aayla stated, turning to her fighter before pausing, turning around and pressing a quick kiss to the commander’s lips. 

A second later, she had hopped into her starfighter, which swiftly hummed to life and took off from the idled Venator. Bly lightly brushed his fingers against his lips, and mentally shamed himself for not telling her the truth.

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“General Windu? Are you alright sir?”

The words seemed to echo win the cool night air as the Jedi Master started the troopers down menacingly. After a few tense seconds, however, the man’s knees gave out and he fell to the ground.

“Gears, get the medic!” Thorn ordered before kneeling down and scanning for injuries. After a few seconds, he found the biggest problem. The general was missing a hand, and had a series of burns on his robes. Lightsaber burns. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Trooper.”

The word makes Thorn jump, and he quickly realizes that it came from the fallen master, who was offering his hand to the commander, who cautiously took it. 

“The temple...is in...danger.” He explained, his voice tense and strained. “Don’t...trust…Palpatine.”

Suddenly, Windu’s grip seemed to lose its strength. Thorn noticed immediately, and shouted once more for a medic. Eventually, Gears returned with the medic and two other troopers. The medic started working on the Jedi immediately, while Thorn was pulled away by his brothers.

As he left, he couldn’t help but ponder the Jedi’s words. The weight of the Jedi’s lightsaber, now clipped to his belt, didn’t help him forget the words any easier.


	6. Foundations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The clones start to plan their next steps, and the Jedi reunite on Polis Massa.

“ _So, what do we do now?_ ” Bly asked, looking amongst his brothers. They had reconveened after all of their general’s had departed, with worse news to bear. Reports were starting to come in of other legions killing their generals, some of which even reported with sadistic glee. Worse yet, Thorn had reported in from Coruscant that Masters Fisto, Koth, and Tine were all KIA, while Windu was now in critical condition.

The question was a fair one, one that resonated in Rex’s own mind. They all knew the answer already. The only way the Jedi, if not the entire _galaxy_ would be safe is if someone took the war to Palpatine.

He straightened his posture and stepped forward, catching all of his brothers attentions. The next words he spoke were clear, a declaration of certainty and resounding anger.

“Now? Now we go to war with the Chancellor.”

He was expecting protests, disagreements, even downright refusals. Instead, as he looked around at his brothers, he saw agreement, bitter as it was. Cody was the first to step forward, a grim but resolute expression on his face.

“Where should we start?”

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“ _Ma’am? You awake back there?”_

Ahsoka’s eyelids fluttered open, and she stretched and yawned before answering her pilot. 

“Yeah, I’m awake now.” She confirmed, before glancing out of her cockpit and realizing their location resided in an unfamiliar asteroid belt. “Is...is this Polis Massa?”

“ _It is indeed, ma’am. We’re landing now, strap in.”_

Slowly, the Y-wing descended to the nearest landing pad. As the engine hummed to a quite idle, Ahsoka made sure that her lightsabers were still clipped to her belt before exiting the craft. She walked down the entrance hallway alongside Jager, who had shed his helmet.

A doctor greeted them at the entrance, and after ensuring that Jager’s chip had been removed, hastily escorted them to one of the medical rooms within the facility. After typing in a short code, the door hissed open and the pair were ushered inside. As soon as they entered, Ahsoka’s eyes fell on some familiar faces.

Jedi Master Aayla Secura was to the far left of the room, several bandages on her arms and legs. Knight’s Tiplee and Allie stood to the far right, talking in hushed whispers. Master Luminara meditated next to Aayla, eyes shut and a peaceful expression on her face. Finally, if not most surprisingly, Masters Yoda and Kenobi stood in the center of the room, also in a conversation. 

“Masters?”

Just like that, all eyes rose to meet her own. Kenobi looked the most surprised, and quickly made his way towards her.

“Ahsoka! Are you alright?” He asked, before pausing and glancing at the clone pilot next to her. He seemed to get the message, and quickly excused himself. After this, Ahsoka answered her Jedi colleague. 

“I’m alright, Master Kenobi.” She assured him, before scanning the rest of the room. “Are...are we the only ones here?”

“For the moment, we are.” Yoda answered, a grim frown on his face. “Many deaths have occurred. Manipulated, our clones have been.”

“It’s the inhibitor chips.” Aayla stated, drawing the attention of her fellow Jedi. “Palptine had them all equipped with a chip, so that he could always control them. This was always his plan.”

“Guess he didn’t expect our boys to power through them, huh?” Tiplee mused, a ghost of a smile on her face.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened again, and the Jedi faced pilot Jager again, though this time he looked a bit more frazzled.

“A new ship just landed, sir.” He announced. “A republic gunship.”

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As Admiral Veronica Holden walked down the hallways of her new Venator, she couldn’t help but notice the looks she was receiving from her crew. Whether it be the clones of the 41st legion or her fellow officers, she could few numerous eyes on her as she continued through the ship.

She hadn’t been expecting a promotion so soon after her first victory, but apparently someone higher up had their eyes on her, and now she was in charge of an entire ship. It was a far cry from her previous assignment on the Courser, and an undeniable nervousness had settled into her chest. Sure, she could banter with the troopers all day, but leading them? Sending them to die?

“Um, ma’am? Are you looking for something?”

Holden stopped in her tracks, and turned towards the trooper who broached this very question. He was one of the 41st clones, with two green streaks going down each side of his helmet. 

“Yes, actually.” She confessed with a light chuckle. “I’m afraid I got a little lost. I didn’t get a proper tour during my initiation.”

“None of us did.” The trooper agreed with a laugh. “So, what are you looking for?”

“Commander Gree’s cabin.” She explained, holding up her data pad. “I had some strategic algorithms to go over with him.”

"The commander’s cabin is on the second level, three doors to the left from the medbay.” The trooper directed, drawing out a smile from the new officer.

“Ah, thank you...um, what’s your name?”

“Draa, ma’am.”  
  


“Thank you, Draa.” Holden said, before starting for the elevator. About a minute later, she was outside Gree’s room. She lifted her hand to knock, but paused as she realized she could hear the commander from outside.

“This is risky, Rex.” He mused, clearly worried. “If we do this, there’s no coming back. It’s victory or death.”

“ _Death to us, yes.”_ Another voice-Rex-confirmed. “ _But the Jedi might get a fighting chance.”_

Holden’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of the Jedi, the supposed enemies of the Republic. Holden herself was quite skeptical of this prospect, but orders were orders.

“Well...I guess we’re doing this.” Gree agreed with a weak laugh. “How should we start?”

“ _I'll send you rondevu coordinates within the hour. Tell your men the plan, and if possible, get your officers in on it too.”_

“Understood. See you soon, Rex.” Gree confirmed, followed by a series of footsteps...and the door to his room opening.

There was an awkward lapse of silence as the admiral and commander stared at each other. A luminescent blush flourished on the former’s face, before she managed a single question.

“So...come here often?”

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_Commander, the time has come to eradicate the Jedi, once and for all. Storm the temple. Kill them all._

The words echoed within Fox’s mind as he marched alongside the newly promoted Appo towards the fresh gunships that were taking both shock troopers and 501st to the Jedi Temple.

“So, you ready for this, commander?” Appo asked, priming his DC-15 as he spoke. 

“As ready as I’m going to be.” The shock trooper commander confirmed, before pausing as a robed figure joined them on the transport. After a few seconds, Fox registered who he was looking at. “General Skywalker?”

The former Jedi regarded the trooper with a cold glare, his blue eyes now rimmed with amber.

“My name is Vader. Darth Vader.”


	7. Making a Stand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 501st prepares for war, the Jedi reconvene with new additions, and Thorn takes matters into his own hands.

“Rex, can we stop for a second and just talk about how insane this is?!” Jesse hissed as he walked alongside his captain, who was giving orders to pack up to the rest of the troopers in the surrounding area. “You’re talking about attacking the leader of the Republic! We’ll have to fight our own brothers to get to him!”

“I know, Jesse.” Rex acknowledged as he kept walking. “But we can’t let this stand! The Jedi don’t know what Palpatine has planned for them, or worse, he’s already started killing them off! Someone has to act!”

“I know that, Rex, but…”  
  


“Jesse.”

The ARC trooper came to a halt alongside the captain, who finally faced him with an expression of simultaneous sadness and determination. A look Jesse was all too familiar with. It was one Rex had worn many a time after the battle of Umbara. After Krell’s betrayal. 

“I understand why you’re skeptical, but we have to do this.” Rex assured his friend, before sighing heavily. “If any trooper doesn’t want any part in this, then they’re free to leave. Or continue fighting here, I don’t care. All I know is that I’m not going to let that madaman slaughter innocent people or control my family.”

After a few tense seconds, the 501st captain continued down the the bridgeway towards the final landing pad, on which three gunships and what was left of the 501st Airborne detachment waited. Eventually, Jesse joined him as he addressed the clones before him.

“This is it, men. We’re going back to Courasent, and we’re taking the war to the Chancellor.” He announced, all traces of sadness on his face gone, now replaced with sheer rage. “He seems to think that we’re just puppets for him to throw around for his amusement. I think it’s time we show him that we’re not mindless droids. We are men, and we will not be manipulated! We will fight for the Jedi! For our brothers! FOR THE REPUBLIC!”

All troopers on that pad cheered alongside their captain, and hastily hoarded onto the gunships. Rex took his place, and quickly found himself flanked by familiar faces. Kix, Coric, Denal, and Jesse stood alongside him, all looking just as determined as he felt.

“We’re with you, captain. All the way.” Jesse assured his brother. Rex allowed a smile to rise on his face as the gunship doors closed, and they soared into the air, heading back to the Venator above them in preparation for the coming war.

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By the time Jager told the Jedi of the new arrivals, the distinct thumps of approaching footsteps caught their attention. Ahsoka’s hand immediately dropped to her lightsabers, a motion which she noticed was mirrored by almost every other Jedi in the room, save Master Yoda.

However, any premise of conflict died as Jager snapped to attention and saluted whoever was approaching. Seconds later, Shaak Ti and a clone commander in white and grey armor stepped into view, followed by three other Jedi and another clone, though this one was unconscious.

“Master Ti?” Ahsoka gasped, receiving a small chuckle in confirmation from the older tortuga. 

“It’s nice to see you again, Ahsoka. You look well.” She then noticed how most of the Jedi were watching both her troopers, and held up her hand. “Excuse my company, masters. Blanc was instrumental in my escape from Kamino.”

“Wait, Blanc?” Ahsoka asked, prompting the commander to stilt his head in confirmation. “Rex told me about you! You’re one of the clones who had your chip removed.”

“Yeah, Rex came to me after the incident on Kamino and explained the situation.” The commander explained. “I was pressed to believe him, of course, but I called up one of the medical droids, and sure enough, the chip was there.”

“Blanc managed to intercept me on my way to the command center when the order was given.” Ti continued, a small smile forming on her face. “He covered me while I acquired transport off the planet.”

“And how did you come across them?” Obi-Wan asked, gesturing to the trio of Jedi that had joined them. The younger two were clearly padawans, while the third wore light armor along with her robes, indicating that she was a knight. 

  
“We intercepted an escape pod from a medical frigate during our escape.” Blanc explained, eyeing his unconscious brother, who was slumped on the wall next to Luminara, who was scanning him for injuries. “Danson here was helping these three escape when the order was given. They had to knock him out to ensure their safety.”

“Apologies, masters. I was lost in my thoughts.” The knight apologized, before extending her hand to Kenobi. “My name is Tyla Churhee.”

“Remember you, I do.” Yoda commented, before turning his gaze to the younger jedi. “Jaune Arc and Ella Fall, as well.”

“Hello, master.” Jaune greeted, running a hand through his shaggy blond hair with a distressed chuckle. “I didn’t think this was how we’d be meeting again.”

“Regret the circumstances, I do. The company, I do not.”

Jaune managed a weak grin at the Jedi’s words, one mirrored by his fellow Padawan, who remained silent. A few seconds later, the door to the room hissed open once more, and a doctor poked his head in.

“Excuse me, Master Jedi. Were any of you expecting a droid?”

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“Thorn, you ok?” 

The question brought Thorn out of his stupor, as he turned his head to look at Gears, who was eyeing his superior with an almost nervous expression. The rest of the troopers they we teamed up with were scattered around the perimeter of the temple entrance, keeping a safe distance away from the building itself as they waited for reinforcements.

“You tell me, Gears.” He asked coldly, brown eyes sharp with subdued anger. “We’re about to storm the damn Jedi Temple. We both know what’s coming, so why the hell would I be ok?”

Gears didn’t answer at first, but shed his own helmet moments later and laid a hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“Hey, I’m not enjoying myself any more than you are.” The engineer assured his brother. Then, an odd look entered his eyes, and he said something. Something that in the company of just about any other trooper of the Republic would have seen as an act of treason.

“Who said we have to obey these orders?”

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Fox’s heart thundered in his chest as he marched alongside his brothers up the steps towards the Jedi Temple. He kept glancing at Skywalker as they climbed, the Jedi’s expresion stoic and focused. At one point, the blue-amber eyes flicked to his, and the commander nearly missed a step. However, they just kept climbing.

Eventually, they reached the top of the stairs, and came to a stop. Before them, Commander Thorn and about two dozen shock troopers were lined up before the doors of the temple. Fox felt something was off as he noticed how they were lined up, his heart rate not slowing as Skywalker stepped forward.

“Admirable work, troopers. Your service to the Emperor will be rewarded.” He congratulated, the stoic expression never leaving his face. “We’ll take it from here.”

“I’m afraid not, sir.”

The words hung above them as the two groups started each other down in shocked silence. Clones on both sides looked around in confusion, while the fallen Jedi glared at the commander venomously before speaking once more.

“Excuse me?”

  
“You heard me, sir.” Thorn repeated, revving his Z-6 while returning the man’s glare. “You’re not coming any closer. The Jedi Temple is officially under the protection of the Coruscant Guard.”

…

_Damn it, Thorn._


	8. Outgoing Messages

“I’m going to give you a chance to reconsider your actions, Commander.” Anakin growled as his hand drifted towards his lightsaber. “What you’re suggesting is-”

“Treason?” Thorn guessed, shrugging his shoulders lightly as he hefted his gun once more. “I’m aware, sir. I’m also aware of your plan once you enter the temple. I didn’t peg you as a murderer, general.”

Anakin glared at the troopers angrily, his patience wearing further every second. The troopers behind his shifted nervously, whispers of uncertainty and fear sweeping through their ranks. Even Fox eyed his own pistols with an unknown emotion that the Jedi didn’t like one bit.

“The orders of the Chancellor will be followed.” The Jedi assured him, now gripping his saber tightly. “Final warning, Thorn. Step aside.”

“What would Kenobi think of this, I wonder?” Thorn pondered aloud, making Anakin freeze in his tracks. “What about Tano? And Rex?”

There was a pause as Thorn looked eyes with the man, brown meeting blue.

“What about Padme?”

In an instant, Skywalker’s saber was in his hand and activated, now pointed directly towards the commander.

“ **DO** **_NOT_ ** **BRING HER INTO THIS, YOU DEFECTIVE WASTE OF SPACE!** ” He roared, his eyes now burning a bright yellow. In response to the glowing weapon being pointed towards their commander, the shock troopers trained their weapons on the rogue Jedi. The 501st mirrored the action of the shock, and waited for the situation to escalate further.

“Sir, I don’t think you want to do this.” Thorn continued, taking a step forward. “You’re a Jedi, a protector of the Republic and defender of peace. This isn’t you, and I think you know that.”

Anakin’s eyes remained trained on the trooper’s, but the amber glow began to disappear. Thorn to another step forward, and then another. He stopped right before the ignited lightsaber, and tilted his head to look past the blade to its wielder.

“If this is who you are, then you strike me down. Or you go back down these steps and tell my brothers that the order was a false alarm, and to hold their fire on the Jedi temple. Your choice...General Skywalker.”

Ankain started to retort, but found the words dying before they made it out of his mouth. He considered the troopers words, the sentiment they carried. Why  _ was  _ he doing this? Who would this help? The deaths of innocent people wouldn’t change anything, wouldn’t prevent anything.

“...Appo?” He whispered, prompting the newly appointed commander to step closer. “Tell the men to pull back to out landing zone.”

If the trooper had any objections, he didn’t voice them. Instead, he followed his orders and motioned his men to fall back. Gradually, the troops descended back down the same steps they had climbed only a minute before while the Jedi watched the commander intently, blue eyes boring into brown.

“Consider this an act of mercy, commander.” He spat, deactivating and holstering his lightsaber. “You have twenty-four hours to clear out, then we’re coming back.”   


“I’ll be counting down the seconds, sir.” Thorn snarked as he motioned for his men to relax. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Anakin mustered up another glare before descending the stairs alongside his soldiers. As soon as the man’s head dipped out of sight, Thorn sank to his knees and let out a shuddering sigh. 

_ We did it...we protected them… _

A hand suddenly landed on the commander’s shoulder, making him look up at the clone who had placed it there.

“Are you alright, sir?” Gears asked, holstering his staff as he pulled his brother to his feet. Thorn glanced around, and saw the rest of the troopers he was with settle down, either sitting to clean their weapons or simply to rest after the harrowing experience.

“I’m fine...for now.”

\--------------

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\--------------

The Jedi waited patiently as the astromech droid sat in the center of the room, humming as it processed whatever message that it had been sent with. Apparently, the droid wasn’t allowed to explain itself, as it was all transcribed in the message. 

Suddenly, the droid let out a sharp chirp, and an image was projected. An image of Captain Rex, helmet under his arm and a solemn look on his face.

“ _ Hello, generals. If you’re hearing this, then a decent number of you must have made it to Polisa Masa. If so, then it’s time for me to tell you something. My fellow commanders and I...were not entirely truthful with you regarding what happens after you’ve assembled.” _

Rex paused, and rubbed the back of his head before continuing.

“ _ Even if you’re momentarily safe, Palpatine will still come for you. Even if we all remove our inhibitor chips, he’ll find a way to use us, to make us hurt you. So, the only reasonable course of action...is to make sure the Chancellor can’t hurt anyone by taking him out of power. Permanently.” _

The weight of the words were felt by the entire room, which stayed entirely silent as the message continued. 

“ _ So far, we have the 501st, 212th, 327th, 91st, 41st, and Doom’s legion. Against the rest of our brothers. The entire army of the Republic.”  _

  
A soft, broken chuckle slipped past Rex’s lips as he shook his head sadly. 

“ _ It’s a suicidal mission of galactic proportions...but if we don’t make a stand, no one will.”  _ He declared. “ _ That said, we both know that you brave fools are going to try and help us. You can’t. We instructed each of your rides to use as much fuel as possible. On the off chance that you do manage to find fuel, please just stay where you are. We’re doing this so that you can all be safe.” _

Rex paused again, looking over his shoulder to someone talking off screen while the Jedi recovered from the revel of the clone’s true plan.

“ _Alright, alright. I’m finishing up now. Tell_ _Yularen_ _to take us into hyperspace as soon as we have our coordinates.”_ He ordered to whoever was off screen, before turning back toward the projector. “ _Well, I’m afraid this is goodbye. Good luck, generals, and may the force be with you all.”_

And just like that, the transmission ended, leaving the room in a tense silence. Many of the Jedi were still coming to terms with the knowledge that their troopers were going to throw themselves into an unwinnable battle when Aayla marched out of the room, followed closely by Ahsoka and Shaak Ti.

“Master, where are you going?” Ahsoka asked as she caught up with the Twi'lek, who wore a stern expression as she continued her trek towards the landing pads.

“I'm going to find us a ship.” Aayla answered curtly. “I will not allow my men to sacrifice themselves so carelessly. After all they’ve done for me…”   
  


“Aayla, stop.” Ti interjected, stepping in front of her fellow Jedi and stopping her momentarily. “I understand your point of view, but you heard Rex. Even if we could find a ship, all the ones we came in on are out of fuel.”

“Not all of them.”

The three Jedi turned around to face this new voice, which belonged to Commander Blanc. He gestured to the door next to him, which revealed the Republic Gunship that he and Shaak Ti had used to escape from Kamino. 

“Y’know, I never did get to see proper combat.” He mused thoughtfully as he started at the ship. “My entire life, I just...kept our home safe. Kept my brothers safe. Maybe it’s time I do that again.”

“We’ll do it alongside you, Blanc.” Ahsoka assured him, earning a small smile from the commander before he turned on his heel and started back towards the room where the rest of the Jedi were waiting.

“Well, it’ll be nice to have company for a change. Now let's go save my brothers.”

\--------------

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\--------------

“Captain, we’re exiting hyperspace in two minutes. Transmission line is open for whenever you’re ready.”

Rex snapped back to reality as he headed Admiral Yularen words, and stepped up to the holotable, gripping the edge tightly.

“Thank you, Admiral. Patch me through as soon as we arrive at the rondevu point.” He replied, before fixing his attention back to the table. This was it. This was the moment that would either make the Republic or break it.

“ _ This is Cody. 212th is ready for battle.”  _

_ “Bly, checking in. 327th is ready.” _

_ “Neyo and Doom, present. Battalions are both at the ready.” _

_ “This is Commander Gree. 41st is awaiting confirmation of mission commencement.” _

“The is Rex. 501st is rearing for a fight.” He acknowledged, allowing a sigh to slip past his lips. “Here goes nothing.”

The holotable hummed to life, and several beams appeared, signifying the open comm channels. First three, then nine, then fourteen, then...well, then a lot more. An officer to his left gave Rex a thumbs up, and with that, the captain began to speak.

“Hello. My name is Rex, my clone identification number is CT-7567. And if you’re hearing this, it’s because you’re willing to listen. Chancellor Palpatine of the Galactic Republic recently declared that all associates and members of the Jedi Order are enemies of the Republic, and are to be terminated swiftly. Worse yet, he has forced the clone army to do this, against their will, through the treacherous use of inhibitor chips. If you’re receiving this transmission, than you’re also receiving the proof of these claims.”

“As I speak, innocent men and women are being hunted and slaughtered by my brothers, who are being forced to commit such disturbing acts. This cannot be allowed to stand! So I implore all who hear me; stand with me against this tyranny! Join me at Courasuant, help me and my brothers get to the Chancellor and take him out of power! Help us save the Republic!”

“I know the very act of suggesting this is unfathomably ridiculous, but it must be done. Hundreds, if not millions of lives are at stake! We must stand now, and show the galaxy that villany of this degree will not be tolerated. Once again, I ask all who are willing to join me at Coruscant. Coordinates are attached. We must not let this vile act go unpunished. It’s time to show Sheev Palpatine what happens when he messes with the Grand Army of the Republic. This is Captain Rex, signing off.”

And just like that, the beams disappeared, and the entirety of the Venator jerked as it leapt out of hyperspace, just outside of Vandor-2. Only a few minutes away from Courasuant. Then, another Venator appeared next to theirs.  _ The Negotiator II. _ Than another, and another, and another. Five Venator’s waited above the desolate planet below, silence engulfing the area momentarily.

_ “What do we do now, Rex?”  _ Gree asked over comms, his voice simultaneously hopeful and terrified. Rex only managed a rueful chuckle before answering, his voice just as nervous as his brother’s.

“Now we wait. And we pray that people listened.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies this one took so long. Happy Holidays/New Year, all!


	9. Uniting the Forces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rex and his rebellious brothers get their first taste of the coming conflict. Fox reflects on the war and his place in the GAR.

An hour passed without contact from any other clone units. The men of the 501st legion began to get restless, a sympathy shared by their brothers. The subdued chattering of the bridge didn’t help lessen the growing unease in Rex’s chest as he congregated with his fellow commanders.

“ _Rex, as much as I hate to say it, we might be doing this alone.”_ Cody stated, his eyes tired and defeated. Gree, on the other hand, still looked ready to hop in a ARC-170 himself and take the fight to Coruscant that very second.

“ _We can’t give up now! There are clones all over the galaxy! Plenty might not have gotten our message yet!”_

_“We have to consider both options.”_ Neyo interjected, his tone even. “ _Without reinforcements, our mission is going to be a lot harder.”_

_“We’re not backing down. Not after everything that’s happened.”_ Bly assured his brothers, before a sharp chirping from his ship caught their attention. “ _Shit, we have three Venator’s incoming, front and center!”_

Sure enough, three Ventor’s exited hyperspace before the gathered forces.

“Holden, can you get us a read on those ships?” Rex asked, prompting the admiral to appear next to Gree on the holo table. 

“ _Their weapons are primed, but they’re holding fire for the moment. Give me a moment, I’ll hail them.”_ She explained, before opening the outgoing link. “ _This is Admiral Veronica Holden of the Tranquility II, hailing unidentified Venators. Mind identifying yourselves?”_

_“This is Captain Wilhuff Tarkin. I have been dispatched by the Chancellor himself to deal with your treasonous rebellion.”_ The lead Venator replied. “ _Power down your weapons and stand down, or I will be forced to exterminated all of you.”_

A tense silence followed this threat, with all the commanders falling silent from shock. Rex was the first to act, linking himself to the new comm. 

“This is Captain Rex of the 501st legion. We’re not standing down, sir.” He answered, a stern expression on his face. “Unless you want a massacre, I’d recommend turning right around before we turn your ships into scrap heaps.”

_“You wouldn’t dare fire upon us, especially considering most of our crew consists of your brothers.”_ Tarkin retorted, his tone all too smug. He knew that the thought of killing innocent clones would get to Rex. As the captain exchanged looks with each of his commanders, however, they formed a silent agreement.

“Try me.”

With that, all batteries on the five allied Ventors humming to life and aligning themselves with the enemy ships. While the shots themselves were not fired, the message was clear enough; we don’t want to hurt our brothers, but we will if you leave us with no other choice.

“ _You’re making a mistake, clone._ ” Tarkin hissed, clearly not expecting the defiance. 

“Maybe. Let’s see if you live to find out.” Rex growled in response, prepared to order the main batteries to fire before he noticed a pair of blinking lights on the holomap. More Venators. 

Before he could alert the officers, it was too late. The two Venators emerged from hyperspace behind the other three. The odds were even now. Rex briefly felt a spike of fear wrack his body with the realization they might not even make it to Coruscant. And then the comms pinged with two new additions.

“ _This is Commander Wolffe of the 104th legion and Commander Grey of the 88th legion. Captain Tarkin, disable your weapons and stand down.”_

A wave of cheers rose through the bridges of the rebelling Venators. Seconds later, the guns on Tarkin’s ships deactivated and his comm closed. Within the hour, the ships had been boarded and had taken under the clone’s control. Unsurprisingly, after Tarkin and his officers were thrown into the brig, the clone crew of all three Venators joined the clone coalition. They had received Rex’s message, and were more than willing to fight for both their brothers and the jedi.

“It’s good to hear your voice, Wolffe.” Rex announced once all the new troops were sorted, the three Venators joining the fleet and forming a new blockade of ten.

“ _Likewise. Apologies for not contacting you sooner, fighting over Corelia got thick for a while.”_ The wolfpack commander responded, a rare smile on his face. “ _Grey sends his regards. Their comm relay got damaged on the way here.”_

“ _I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but we’re still at a disadvantage.”_ Cody interjected, bringing up a visual of Coruscant and the Republic blockade surrounding it. “ _Even with our ships, we don’t have a chance of cutting through the blockade. Not without significant casualties.”_

The commander’s collectively frowned at the reminder, excusing their latest addition, who simply wore another small smile.

“ _Don’t tell me you think that Grey and I were all that was coming?”_

After his playful question, Wolffe clicked something out of view. Following this action, a series of blips appeared on the radar, followed by several ships exiting hyperspace. The commanders gawked at their new additions, including several Arquitens-class light cruisers, four retrofitted Consulars, a single Acclamator, and a cluster of Nu-class transports, ARC-170s, Headhunters, and Y-wings. As the ships appeared, more and more troopers chimed in over the comms.

“ _This is Oddball, signing off.”_

_“This is Hawk, signing off.”_

“ _This is Delta Squad, here to assist.”_

_  
__“Ion, White, and Omega squads, here to help.”_

_“Kamino Security Reserves, at the ready!”_

_“10th Armored Battalion, need some heavy metal?”_

_“_ _442nd Siege Battalion and 18th Battalion, locked and loaded!”_

The commanders now openly celebrated alongside their troops, the number of reinforcements stoking the fire of hope. Notably, however, an Eta-class shuttle entered soon after, which was a ship that traditionally was used as a Jedi transport.

“Eta-class transport, this is Captain Rex. Would you mind giving me a manifest report?” 

_“Oh, I’d be more than happy to, Captain.”_

Rex’s heart skipped a beat as he recognized the voice that filter through his speaker. No. No kriffing way.

“Ahsoka?”

“ _Yup.”_ The re-instated Jedi answered, her tone clearly irritated. _“Now do you mind getting the commanders together? My fellow Jedi and I have a lot to discuss with you.”_

_“...we’re in trouble.”_ Bly mused as the line went dead, before telling his brothers of their new orders. Despite the consequences of whatever was going to happen with the returned Jedi, Rex couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

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_“-Once again, I ask all who are willing to join me at Coruscant. Coordinates are attached. We must not let this vile act go unpunished. It’s time to show Sheev Palpatine what happens when he messes with the Grand Army of the Republic. This is Captain Rex, signing off.”_

The transmission ended and the comm system deactivated, leaving Fox in dead silence of the detention center control room. He processed the words as they bounced around his mind. Such treasonous declarations, going against everything that the clone army was supposed to stand for!

_You saw the proof yourself._ His mind argued, fighting with itself. _You knew something was wrong from the beginning. Since...Fives._

Fox would never admit it in front of another soul, but the night that he killed CT-5555, his brother, was the first time in his life he had felt doubt. Now? The doubt washed over him in waves. Somewhere, deep back in his mind, he made a decision. 

Slowly, methodically, he shut down the cameras to cells eleven and thirteen and their adjoining hallway. Seconds later, the doors opened, releasing their occupants. With the rest of the troopers out on patrol, Fox was free to take what he needed from the evidence locker and walk into the cell block without interruption. 

As he reached their row, the commander pause as the former inmates met his gaze from the other end of the halfway. Mace Windu eyed him with stoic resolve while Barriss Offee sneered openly at him.

“Stay back, **Sleemo**.” She spat, raising her cuffed hands in what looked like a pathetic attempt of looking threatening. Unperturbed, Fox started towards them, making it several feet before the Mirialan called out again. “I said back!”

She raised her hands, but found them caught by Windu, who shot her a sharp glare. After her actions of betraying the Jedi, the former padawan had enough dignity to look ashamed as she slunk back from the man. Windu then turned his gaze back to the clone, who had resumed his walking and stopped in front of him.

The three all watched each other expectantly, waiting for someone to make the first move. Eventually, Fox lifted his hand...and unlocked the Jedi’s cuffs. The cold, heavy cuffs collided fell with a heavy _clack,_ followed quickly by Barriss’s as well. The two prisoners rubbed their wrists as feeling returned to their hands, while Fox reached onto his belt and removed the latter’s lightsaber.

“Here.” He said, offering it to her. Momentarily, her eyes lit up at the sight of the weapon, before a remorseful look crossed her face and she shook her head sadly. 

“I...I am unworthy of the weapon of a Jedi.” She explained simply, earning her a thoughtful glance from Windu. Despite his helmet, Fox’s eye roll was practically visible as he instead handed the saber to Windu.

“Always gotta make things difficult, don’t you?” He growled, unholstering his one of his pistols. Barriss’s eyes widened in fear, and flinched back in preparation, only for the trooper to sigh in annoyance and place the pistol between her hands. “Just take this. It’s got an extended charge, but still use your shots sparingly.”

“Why the sudden change of heart?” Windu asked as he clipped the new lightsaber to his belt. To his credit, Fox shrugged his shoulders loosely, before turning on his heel and heading for the exit.

“The galaxy's changing. Might as well change with it.”


	10. Ready, Aim...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The embers of rebellion flicker throughout the galaxy, and an inferno is about to explode on Coruscant.

“So...I’m gonna go off on a limb here and guess that you’re a little angry?”

Rex shot Bly an exasperated look, one mirrored by both Ayala and Ahsoka beside him. Both the commanders and Jedi generals had all agreed to rondeau on Rex’s Venator, excluding Wolffe and Grey, who were still in transit.

“Now Bly, why would we ever be angry?” The twi’lek jedi retorted in a sarcastically sweet tone. “All you did was leave us behind and try to sacrifice yourselves in a stupid, suicidal gambit.”

“...yeah, they’re pissed.” Neyo mused, earning him a sharp elbow from Stass Allie, with a matching scowl to acomneying it.

“Yes, Neyo, we are!” She hissed, blue eyes glinting dangerously. “Do you have any idea how absolutly stupid your plan was?!”

“Respectfully, ma’am, I think that was part of the appeal.” Cody quipped, before turning to Master Yoda, who had remained fairly quiet since he and his fellow Jedi had arrived. “That said, how do things change now that you are here?”

The short, green alien remained silent for a time, eyes shut and expresion fixed into concentration. Finally, he opened his eyes and answered the waiting clone.

“Agree with the captain, I do.” He stated, turning his gaze to Rex. “To protect both the Jedi and the clones, defeat Palpatine, we must. Only by fighting together do we truly stand a chance.”

“Well, I suppose that settles it then.” Obi-Wan mused after a moment, stroking his beard thoughtfully. “What is the plan exactly, Rex?”

“Hopefully something that will save all of our skins.”

All members of the meeting, Jedi and Clone alike turned to face the new, but familiar voice, belonging to Plo Koon. The Kel Dor was flanked by both Commander Wolffe and Commander Grey, who approached the group from a landed gunship.

“Master Plo!” Ahsoka greeted excitedly, not bothering to hide her excitement. “I’m glad to see you’re alright!”

“Likewise, paw-I mean, Ahsoka.” Plo corrected himself, nearly referring to the Togruta as her former rank. “I only survived due to the intervention of Commander Wollfe and Warthog. The rest of my fighter squadron…”

No explanation was needed as to the implications of the Jedi’s words. Those clones hadn’t been in control of their actions, they needed to be stopped. One way or another.

  
“Grey, where’s your general?” Gree interjected sharply, catching everyone’s attention. “You served with Depa Billaba, right?”

Despite still wearing his helmet, it was hard not to hear the emotion in the commander’s voice as he answered, shoulders squared but shaking slightly.

“I...I was unable to resist the order.” He whispered, voice shaking slightly. “My men and I...we fired on her. She...she and her padawan are still alive, but...we didn’t...”

The silence that followed Grey’s confesion was deafening, the light rising and falling of his shoulder mixed with sharp gasps spintering out from behind his helmet telegraphing his shame and pain to all present. Gradually, Grey composed himself, and addressed the 501st captain across from him. 

“You said you had a plan, Rex. To make sure that this never happens again, that our brothers would be free and the Jedi would be safe. Let’s hear it.” 

Off the commander’s words, the rest of the Jedi and clones present returned their gaze to the captain, who stood a bit straighter and forced a confident look to his face.

“We’re going to capture Palpatine and disable all the inhibitor ships.”

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Fox peaked around the corner of the the doorway, scanning the hanger bay and making sure it was mostly empty. Sure enough, only a few scattered pilots and engineers tinkered with the remaining gunships that hadn’t joined the partols. 

_Ok, no big deal._ He thought to himself, concentrating on keeping his breathing even. _Just need to get to a speeder, and get the hell outta dodge. Easy as-_

“So, what’s the plan?”

Fox wasn’t ashamed to admit that he yelped in surprise from the sudden appearance of Barris beside him, not helped by the fact that Windu was not far behind her. His gaze flicked between the two Jedi in disbelief, a few stunned noise slipping out from his mouth before he formulated proper words.

“Wha-I-you-WHY THE _KRIFF_ ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME?!”

“I...thought you were leading us out.” Barris replied, suddenly looking sheepish. Windu, to his credit, only looked mildly annoyed by this confesion, while Fox was on the verge of a panic attack.

“Leading you-do you any idea how deep in the shit I am for even letting you two out?!” He hissed, glancing out the doorway once more to ensure that no personnel had noticed his outburst. It didn’t look like any had. “Kriffing...FINE! Just come with me, and move quickly.” 

Both Jedi nodded in understanding, and the three stepped into the hanger bay. They moved silently past the oblivious pilots and techs the the far edge of the hanger, where the speeders were parked. Only...there was one small problem.

  
“WHY THE HELL ARE THERE ONLY TWO SPEEDERS?!” Fox whisper-screamed, looking about ready to snap at a moment’s notice. The two BARCs that idled near the hanger’s edge were the only transport in the area that could get the three out, considering none of them knew how to fly a gunship.

“Perhaps the others are out on patrol.” Mace hypothesised, before taking a few steps forward. “We can still make due with this. Take Barris, and follow me.”

“Ergh, fine.” Fox growled following the Jedi’s lead and mounting the bike. Barris stood next to him momentarily, looking unsure of what to do. “What are you waiting for? Get on!”

“Um...how?” She asked, scanning the entirety of the bike. “Like, sit on the middle, or-”

“FOR KRIFF’S SAKE, JUST SIT BEHIND ME AND WRAP YOUR ARMS AROUND ME!” Fox snapped, starting the former Jedi . Cheeks burning red, she obeyed, and while the fit was a bit snug, it did the trick. “Ok, we’re ready.” 

“Good, now try to keep up.” Mace instructed, before activating the speeder and taking off. Judging by the shouts of surprise from behind him, the other troopers had noticed, so Fox quickly followed the man’s example and activated his bike, laughing out of the hanger swiftly.

As the two speeders soared through the cool, night air of Coruscant, both the commander and the Jedi turncoat couldn’t help but feel...conflicted. Both had made grave mistakes against the Jedi and Republic, and neither were quite sure if any attempts to make up for the past.

  
“...hey, I just wanted to thank you.” Barris whispered suddenly, startling the shock trooper. “I know you put a lot on the line helping us, so...thanks.”

“Ah, well...truth is, I’ve been starting to think that I was on the wrong side for a while.” Fox confessed, frowning beneath his helmet. “I want to make things right, but I’m not sure I even can. Still, maybe helping you Jedi is a good start.”

“I don’t see how it could hurt.” Barris replied, tightening her hold slightly. “It’s...nice to have someone care about you.”

“Don’t take it too personally.” Fox snarked, making his companion laugh. “Do I really seem the type to leave some gorgeous girl locked in a cell while she’s in danger?”

_D-don’t call her “gorgeous”, laserbrain!_ He chidded himself mentally. He needed to stay focused, they were in danger and he couldn’t get distracted by some girl who was currently...holding him...almost passionat-NO! FOCUS!

“Fox, we’re getting close!” Mace called back, bringing the trooper back to the present. He followed the Jedi’s path up the staircase, and as they reached the top realized where they were.

“General Windu, is that you?” Thorn called out from the Jedi Tempal’s entrance, before his gaze flicked to Fox and his stance stiffened. “...Fox?”

_Oh for kriff’s sake, JUST END ME NOW!_

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Sheev Papatine didn’t acknowledge Anakin as he entered the chambers. Not at first, anyhow. As the turned Jedi, knelt however, the Sith Lord turned to face him, amber eyes glowing in the dark room.

“My apprentice. I have a mission for you.”

“Of course, Master.” Anakin answered nearly instantly, his tone almost eager. “What must I do?”

“The remaining Separatists gather on Mustafar. Find them, and kill them.” The Sith demanded, extending his hand to the younger man. “Then return to me, and we will take the Jedi Temple together.”

“As you wish, my lord.” Anakin replied, before standing and making his way towards the exit. However, before he could leave, the Sith Lord’s voice rang out once more. 

“And you would do wise not to fail me again, my apprentice.” He assured, a sinister grin rising on his face. “Your reluctance to kill both Windu and his followers as well as refraining from attacking the Temple do not inspire the utmost confidence.”

“I will not fail you. I will do all that you ask.” Anakin assured him, blue eyes still blaving. “For Padme.”

“For Padme.” Palpatine agreed, though the sinister grin remained. As the Jedi left, the Sith Lord returned to his spot by the window, and breached the Force once more. He felt anger, fear, and death. Everything he needed. And yet, embers of hope and determination still flickered throughout the galaxy. How...positively annoying.

Suddenly, the commlink on the chancellor's desk started beeping, prompting the Sith to extend a withered hand and answer the call. 

“Commander Thire, what have you to report?” Palpatine quired, watching the shock commander with newfound interest.

  
“ _It’s as you feared, sir. A small fleet is approaching Coruscant._ ” The trooper reported, expression stern. “ _It’s a rebellion.”_

Papatine’s smile only grew. Now this...this was going to be fun.

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"Is everyone clear on the plan?" Rex asked, scanning the holo-table for any disagreement or confusion.

" _The 501st, 212th, 91st, and 442nd will engage forces on the ground and secure landing zones while the rest of the legions fight the fleet above."_ Obi-Wan recited, stroking his beard thoughtfully. " _Once we're all together, we storm the chancellor's office and take him by any means necessary. we can also disable the chips from there."_

_"This is quite the plan, Rex."_ Tiplee complemented, before her expression became serious. " _But are we certain it will work?"_

"It'll work." Rex assured her, not even bothering to brace himself as the Venator exited hyperspace just over Coruscant, shooting Ahsoka and meaningful, if not slightly desperate look. "It has to."


	11. Fire P1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Second Battle of Coruscant has begun.

“Holden? Are you alright?” 

  
Veronica jolted in surprise as a hand met her shoulder, shocked out of her thoughts. Hastily, she turned to face Gree, attempting to flash him a kind smile.

“I’m alright, Gree.” She lied, wringing her hands together nervously. “Just...feels a bit weird to be fighting our own guys.”

“Trust me, you don’t know the half of it.” Gree quipped, before extending his hand to her. “We’re in this together, ma’am. All the way.”

“Yeah...yeah, I know.” Veronica admitted, taking the commander’s hand and allowing a far more genuine smile to rise on her face. “And you can call me Veronica. We’re about to take on the entire Republic Navy, we might as well be on a first name basis.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Gree replied, before leading the admiral over to the holotable where Master Luminara was waiting. The Jedi and commander shared a knowing look, with the former smiling knowingly at her subordinate. Following this, the 41st commander cleared his throat and opened a communication line to the other ships. “Bly, Doom, you there brothers?”

“ _Wha-um, yeah. Yeah, we’re here._ ” Bly confirmed, sounding almost breathless on the other end of the line. Doom didn’t respond, but the muffled sounds of movement confirmed he was present. Gree rolled his eyes, but smiled playfully as he pinged the comm once again.

“Could you stop snogging your generals for five seconds while we prepare for our attack?”

This time, an audible rush of moment was heard through the commlink, followed by the holographic images of both commanders and Jedi appeared, though the latter looking semi-irritated. 

“ _No need for crude theatrics, commander. We’re all present.”_ Aayla chidded, glare slightly at the commander across from her before composing her expression. “ _I assume we’re running over the battle plan a final time?”_

“Correct. Veronica, would you please?” Gree asked, gesturing to the table. The admiral stepped forward, and addressed her allies with haste and decisiveness. 

“Ok, the plan is for the 41st, 327th, 104th, 372th, 721st, and Doom’s legion to distract the Republic fleet as the 501st, 212th, 91st, 442nd, and the two reserve battalions to make it to the surface.” She explained, bringing up a hologram of Coruscant. “Once on the surface, the teams will split up like so; 501st and unassigned will secure the Jedi temple while 212th, 442nd and 91st secure the landing zone near the spaceport so that we can make landfall. Once we’re all together, we storm the capitol building and take the chancellor by force.”

“ _We’ve certainly run riskier missions.”_ Tiplee snarked, sparking a laugh from Doom beside her. All present allowed a brief moment of levity to run its course before the somber feeling returned, and Tiplee’s expresion hardened. “ _This...this could really be it, huh? The end of the line._ ”

“ _Even if it is, we’ll go down swinging.”_ Bly vowed, before interlacing his finger’s with Aayla’s, a small, hopeful smile blooming behind his helmet. “ _Not that I have any intention of losing._ ”

The pair exchanged warm smiles, uncaring of the others present. Of course, this touching moment was brought to a screeching halt as the Venators exited hyperspace, and both the bright lights of Coruscant and the dark, triangular shape of the Republic’s many ships floating elegantly above it all.

“Here we are. End of the line.” Luminara mused, a stoic but determined expression fixed on her face as she turned to Veronica and nodded firmly. “Admiral, give the green light.”

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The twelve Venators above Coruscant armed their batteries and began distributing orders to their crew as the fleet of the renegades exited hyperspace, just outside their blockade's position.

“Commander Bacara, Captain Corsley!” One of the many clone officers called out, catching both of the men’s attention. “Incoming craft are arming their batteries as well, and their fighters have already started to launch!”

“Well what are you gawking at us for then?! Launch our fighters in response!” Corsley growled in response, sending the trooper into action before turning to the commander of the 21st Corps, a sneered fixed on his face. “Commander, I assume you have a plan to deal with these treacherous rebels?”

“Yeah, something like that.” Baccara confirmed, starting towards the elevator while opening his comm and contacting his second in command. “Ferek, gather the men and get to the hanger. It’s time to exterminate some pests.”

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“Rex, wait up!”

The 501st captain stopped just before he reached his gunship, turning back around just in time to some face to face with Ahsoka. The former padawan was supposed to be with another team of 501st troopers led by Jesse, so her appearance was unexpected to say the least.

“What’s wrong, Ahsoka?” He asked, prompting the young togruta to fidget slightly, barley meeting the captain’s eyes.

  
“I...I just wanted to tell you something, just in case...well, you know.” She explained, a nervous chuckle emerging from both of their mouths. “It’s just...I really care about you, Rex. You’ve been a great friend to me ever since we first met on Christosis, and...and I think that I might…I-I might, uh...”

The words got stuck in her throat, and Ahsoka suddenly felt terribly warm. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe she should just wait until they get back. But what if they didn’t? What is it all went wrong and she loses him and she never even got to tell him how much she loves him?

“I love you too, Ahsoka.”

Ahsoka’s gaze snapped back up to meet Rex’s, and before she could ask if he was serious he leaned forward and embraced her in a warm hug, allowing a feeling of absolute bliss washed over her. They remained like that for a time, before finally separating, both blushing wildly and smiling openly.

“Well...I guess we have a lot to talk about when this is all over, huh?” Rex snarked, earning him another breathy chuckle from his former general. 

“I guess we do, Rexer.” She agreed, staring into his gorgeous brown eyes for a time. By the Force, she really did love him…

“YEAH, GET IT COMMANDER!” Jesse crowed from his gunship, sparking a wave of whoops and cheers from his fellow troopers, making the captain and Jedi separate, and start toward their respective gunships.

“So much for no attachments.” Cody mused from his own gunship, sparking a laugh from Obi-Wan beside him. “I always thought that rule was a shitty one anyhow.”

“The great Commander Cody, rejecting rules? It must truly be the end of days.” The bearded Jedi snarked, a smile rising on his face. “Though I must agree with you. Attachments are inevitable, and perhaps...welcomed.”

While the clone commander heeded his general’s words, Obi Wan’s thoughts drifted to his former padawan, Anakin Skywalker. He had been thinking of the younger man since he arrived on Polis Massa, but now that they were on what could well be their final mission, he allowed himself to reflect on his time with who he considered to be his brother, and a brave young man he might not ever see again.

_Anakin, wherever you are out in this mess, I hope that you’re safe._ Obi-Wan thought to himself, hoping desperately that the knight had been in the safety of the temple when the order was given.

The gunship doors suddenly closed with a hiss, and the squadron of shuttles rose into the air, before filling out of the Venator and towards the planet below.

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In the space above Coruscant, a full fledged battle now raged. Cruisers fired upon each other as clone pilots engaged in heated dogfights, with neither party having a significant advantage. A squadron of ARC-170’s buzzed the 91st Venator, letting loose a torrent of green lasers on the ship’s comm relay, sparking an explosion on the ship’s hull.

“That’s how we do it, boys!” Oddball crowed, only for a burst of blue to cut his celebration short. “Shit, we got bogies on our tail! Warthog, shake them!”

“ _I’m trying!”_ The 104th pilot hissed, turning his Z-95 to avoid incoming fire from a hostile V-wing. “ _I need some help here!”_

_“Ask and you shall receive!”_ Killer quipped as he swooped behind the two fighters a quick burst from his own cannons disabling the V-Wing and joining his fellow pilot in formation. “ _I got your back, kid. Stick together!_ ”

“ _Thanks for the save, brother._ ” Warthog thanked, before a new pilot joined their transmission line.

“ _This is Fireteams Alpha and Beta. It’s go time, gents.”_ The 501st pilot announced. “ _Clear us a path!”_ _  
_

“We’re on it, Hawk. Follow our lead!” Oddball acknowledged, before signaling for his men to form up. “Alright, boys. This is it! Let ‘em have it!”

The squadron then shot another volley of shots into the engions of one of the Navy frigates, effectively disabling it within the first few shots. As the ship began to sink out of alignment, the ARCs caught the attention of the Venator, allowing the batteries to track the fighters instead of the approaching gunships. 

“You’re in the clear, Hawk. Give the chancellor my regards!” Oddball quipped as he rejoined the battle, allowing two dozen gunships to soar through the hole his team had created, launching towards the planet below.

“ _Thanks for the assist, Oddball. See you after this is all over!”_ Hawk replied, before shutting down the comm system and turning his full attention back to guiding the gunship to its assigned destination as the second battle of Coruscant raged above him.

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“Master Windu! I feared the worst when you and the other master did not return from the chancellor’s office!” Jedi Knight Cin Drallig greeted, flanked by several Jedi Temple guards and two shock troopers. “Commander Thorn has explained the situation to me. Are...the rumors true?”

“I’m afraid so.” Windu confirmed grimly. “Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith Lord. He’s been orchestrating these events since before the war even started.”

“Well...may the Force be with us. All of us.” The knight muttered, before his gaze flicked to the Barriss, who was standing beside the Jedi Master. “Respectfully, Master...what is _she_ doing here?”

“I’m here for the same reason you are.” She defended, sparking a scoff from the knight, who crossed his arms and sneered openly at the former pawdawn. 

“You are no Jedi, not after what you did.” He assured her. “You’re lucky Master Windu has even allowed you into the temple at all!”

  
  
“I am aware of my crimes and their consequences!” Barriss spat, eyes flashing with barley suppressed rage. “I’m not asking for forgiveness, only shelter. I care little of what the Jedi think of me.”

“Why, you insolent little-” Cin started, his hand falling to his saber as his guards mirrored the motion. The action ceased, however, as Fox suddenly stepped between the pair, surprising both. 

“That’s enough. With everything that’s going on right now, you shouldn’t give a damn about her past.” The trooper stated cooly. “You need all the help you can get. Now get your hand away from the lightstick before I shove it somewhere you can’t reach it.”

The knight made an incredulous noise, but was silenced by Windu, who had stepped up next to the shock commander.

“I concur with Fox. We can deal with any grievances of this arrangement later.” He insisted, finally putting an end to the conflict as all the Jedi released their weapons and relaxed once more. “Now, what is the status of the Temple?”

“With the assistance of Thorn’s men, we were able to secure the temple swiftly.” Cin reported, recrossing his arms. “We’ve already evacuated the younglings to another location. Still, we are only a few hundred strong.”

“Not for long we’re not.” Thorn announced as he descended the stairs leading to the temple’s library, joining the Jedi and Fox. “Reports just came in of fighting above Coruscant, some kind of “clone/Jedi rebellion” apparently. We’ve got friendly gunships inbound.”

“Then we have no time to lose.” Windu announced, turning back to Cin. “Alert the guard, tell them that we might need to go on the offensive soon. Thorn, you and I are going to greet our reinforcements.”

“Permission to accompany you, sir?” Fox quirried, receiving an arched eyebrow in response. After a moment, the Jedi master nodded in confirmation.

“Granted. However, I’d like to ask you to keep an eye on Barris, please.” He explained, earning a slight glare from the Mirialan. “Just to prevent any further conflict between her and the rest of the guard.”

“Of course, sir. I’ll keep her out of trouble.” Fox vowed, prompting Mace to nod in understanding and start toward the temple’s entrance with Thorn. After a few moments, Fox and Bariss exchanged matching looks and started after the pair.

The sun was starting to rise on the horizon as the twelve gunships came into view, landing just before the end of the staircase leading up to the temple. The doors of the ships opened with a hiss, releasing a hoard of 501st clones who moved towards the temple and secured the surrounding area. Ahsoka and Rex immediately began distributing orders, assisted by Jesse of course. By the time Mace and Thorn made it outside, the entire eastern entrance had been secured by the 501st legion.

  
“Master Windu, Commander Thorn! It’s good to see you’re both alright.” Ahsoka greeted as the pair approached her and Rex. “What’s the situation in the temple?”

“For the moment, the temple is secure. Your support will only bolster our defenses.” Windu answered, the smallest of smiles rising on his face. “It’s good to see you as well, Tano.”

“We aren’t the only legion on the planet, so we’re going to have to jack into your comm systems so we’re all connected.” Rex explained, holstering his pistols. “If you could take me to your main comm relay, I could be...able...to…”

Rex’s voice trailed off as he gaze flicked to something at the temple entrance, making both the Jedi and Thorn turn to follow his gaze, which landed on Fox. While the clone commander was oblivious, both Jedi felt the waves of anger that radiated from Rex’s form through the Force.

“What the hell is _he_ doing here?” He growled, taking a few steps forwards before Ahsoka stepped in front of him, holding up her hands with a frantic expression on her face. 

“Woah, wait a second, Rex!” She protested, stopping him in his tracks. “I don’t know what’s got you so pissed, but you need to focus! The mission comes first.”

Rex looked at his Jedi for a moment, then back to Fox, who had gotten a bit closer but once again stopped as the captain’s gaze returned to him. Finally, after a few tense seconds, Rex took another step back and stifled the anger within himself.

“Mission comes first.” He relented, turning his head back to Windu, who was waiting patiently. “As I was saying, if I could link up with your comm relay, I could connect you to the rest of our allies.”

“Of course, I can take you to the relay.” The master answered, gesturing towards the temple. As he and Rex departed, he offered some final advice to Ahsoka. “I’ll inform the rest of the guard of your arrival. And Tano? Play nice with Offee, please.”

Before the Togruta could ask what he meant, Windu resumed his departer alongside Rex. It didn’t take long for her to decipher the meaning, however, as a familiar voice reached her ears.

“Ahsoka?” Barriss asked, her tone hesitant, if not frightened. Ahsoka turned fully to face the former jedi, the one who had betrayed her. That had framed her for murder. That had tried to kill her.

“Barriss.”

A heavy, uncomfortable silence hung in the air as the two stared at each other, leaving both shock commanders standing awkwardly to the side. Eventually, Fox did the only thing he knew how to do...observe.

“Well, this is awkward.”

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“Hey, Dodds? We got any scheduled deliveries?”

Dodds barely suppressed a groan as he sat up in his chair and turned to face his shiney companion, mouth set into a firm frown.

“No, Eights, we don’t.” He answered, rising from his seat to join the other trooper. “Why?”

“Well, that seems like a lot of gunships arrive for no delivery.” Eights mused, sparking curiosity from his superior. The pair looked out of the window of their tower, observing twelve gunships landing on the various pads. Clones swarmed out of the gunships as soon as their doors opened, spreading throughout the area with unparalleled haste.

“What in the hell..?” Dodds wondered aloud, only for a sharp hiss from the door behind him, revealing Commander Cody and Obi-Wan Kenobi, both with their weapons drawn. 

“Hello there, gentleman.” Obi-wan greeted, smiling politely. “I don’t suppose I could trouble you to step away from that control panel, could I?”

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Palpatine wasn’t surprised when his comm pinged once more, opening this line without a second thought.

“ _Sir, the traitors have made landfall. So far, they’ve been spotted at the Jedi Temple and the shipping yards.”_ Thire reported diligently. “ _What are your orders?”_

Yet again, Palpatine didn’t respond right away. He wanted to savor this moment, the part where the light of hope peaked over the horizon...just in time to be crushed back into oblivion by the heel of darkness.

“Contact Lieutenant Appo and dispatch your troops, Commander. Contact Doctor Nala Se as well, and tell her to activate the H.Y.B.R.I.D. project.”

The Sith Lord didn’t miss the trooper’s flinch at the mention of the project. Few knew of it, of course, and those who did knew the horrors it could unleash.

  
 _“R-right away, my lord.”_ He agreed meekly, before turning off his communicator and leaving the chancellor in darkness once more. That oh-so-familiar smirk rose on Palpatine’s face as a dark, menacing chuckle slipped past his lips. Today was the day that all who stood against him would die.


	12. Fire P2

“Status report, how’s everyone doing so far?” Veronica quirred, stabilizing herself on the holotable as another explosion rocked the ship. The battle had previously been going well, with the element of surprise allowing the renegade coalition to disable two Venators and several frigates. Now, however, with the scales balanced, the Republic’s navy was gaining the upper hand. A quarter of the coalition ships were gone, as were three of their frigates. Both the 104th and 721st Venators had also taken extreme damage.

“ _We’re still here, Veronica.”_ Bly answered over the comms, both of his DC-17s in hand. “ _We might have a breach in our lower hanger, though. Trying to get a sitrep now.”_

_“This is Tiplee, Wolffe and I are in one piece as well.”_ The Mikkian Jedi reported. “ _We’re starting to lose ground here, we need a new strategy!”_

“Ok, ok...I’ve got a plan!” The admiral announced, tapping a series of buttons on the table’s panel and bringing up a display of the battle. “We need to push these guys back, or at the very least thin down their numbers so that we can get to the landing zones once Obi-Wan and his team give the all clear.”

“ _In other words, we need to kick their asses out of the way.”_ Grey summarized, chuckling slightly. “ _What did ya have in mind, V?”_

“Direct all your fighters to the Venators and tell them to take out their engines or power centers. We need to get the upper hand back.” She explained, directing the hologram towards the 21st Corps Venator. “After that, we take out their lead ship. The stranglers will start to fall apart, allowing us to push forward to the landing zone.”

“ _That’s...actually not a half bad plan.”_ Bly mused, before continuing hastily. “ _Not that I ever doubted you, of course. Keep me updated, sounds like I’ve got some intruders to deal with.”_

With that, the commlink went silent, and all parties soon resumed their focus to the battle at hand. As Veronica deactivated the table, however, a hand met her shoulder, making her turn around. 

“Ah, Master Luminara! Do you need something?” 

“Indeed, If you could spare a moment.” The Jedi master confirmed, a patient smile rising on her face. “Given our current situation, of course, you don’t have to. I understand if you are needed elsewhere.”

“If there’s a development, one of the other officers will notify me. It’s no trouble.” Veronica insisted, tilting her head curiously. “What is it you want to ask me?”

“I wanted to know what your reasoning is that you are helping us.” Luminara confessed, making the admiral arch her eyebrows in surprise. “I apologize if I seem ungrateful, I’m merely surprised that a Republic officer would go against her training so flippantly after a direct order of the chancellor.”

“Yes, well...I’ve had quite enough of the chancellors orders.” The admiral snarked bitterly, prompting a matching head tilt from the Jedi in return. “I...before I was transferred to the 41st legion, I was in command of a medical frigate. During a mission, my crew and I were traveling with a trio of other frigates to a medical station. Command instructed us to take a “secure route”, cleared by the chancellor himself.”

“Of course, we followed orders. We shifted course, took the new route...and got ambushed halfway to our destination.” She continued, eyes shining with suppressed tears. “We...we barely made it out of there, and the only reason we did is because one of the other frigates rammed the Separatist’s lead ship, allowing mine to escape. The others…”

Veronica paused and attempted to compose herself, feeling slightly embarrassed at the prospect of breaking down in front of the Jedi general, despite how fresh the emotional scars were. She was even more surprised when Luminara placed a hand on her shoulder, allowing a feeling of calm to wash through her like a lazy wave of water.

“I understand. You don’t need to tell me anything else if you’re uncomfortable.” She insisted cooly, flashing the officer a gentle smile. “After all, I suppose there are better times to ask such difficult questions.”

“No kidding.” Veronica quipped, wiping her eyes and straightening herself out. “Thank you, General. Maybe a longer talk is in order...once we overthrow the chancellor, of course.”

Gree entered the bridge at this point, datapad in hand. He approached the pair hastily, pausing as he reached Veronica, a concerned frown rising on his lips.

“Are you alright, Veronica?” He asked gently, prompting the admiral to nod and slap on a determined expression. 

“Yup, I’m alright.” She confirmed, before walking back over to the holotable and turning it back on. “I’ll be even better once we punch through this blockade.”

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“Master Kenobi, what’s your status?” Stass whispered into her commlink, motioning for her team to stop, with Neyo and Glen falling in alongside her at the edge of the closest platform. She scanned the large, empty landing zone before her, watching the adjacent docks for any significant trooper movement. 

“ _The outpost has been disabled. So far, we’re undetected.”_ The bearded Jedi reported. “ _Cody and I will be joining you shortly, the rest of the men are flying in now. Try to keep a low profile till then.”_

“That’s our specialty, general.” Neyo snarked, earning him a small smile from his Jedi. “Looks like your boys are coming in right about...now.”

Sure enough, several gunships soared overhead, swooping down to the docking platforms and unloading the cargo of troopers. The 212th spread throughout the area quickly, either dissabling or capturing all the troopers patrolling, securing the site within five minutes. By the time the 91st made their way to the pad, Boil and a cluster of troopers were waiting for them.

“Good to see you made it, general.” The ARC trooper greeted, nodding to both Stass and Neyo. “We’ve almost broken through to the control room, but we’ve encountered a bit of resistance.”

“Any concrete numbers, Lieutenant?” The Jedi knight asked, receiving a shrug in response.

“I’m afraid not, ma’am. Randel said at least three, but there could be more.” Boil replied, before a series of shouts from a nearby entrance caught the attention of the entire company. Three clones were led out of the chamber by a troop of 212th, stopping at the cargo elevator and coraling the prisoners in with the rest of the other captured troopers. 

“They surrendered after we identified ourselves!” Wooley explied, slinging his rifle over his shoulder and approaching the trio. “We’re all clear.”

“No time to waste, then.” Neyo retorted, holstering his own weapon and fixing his Jedi with a determined grin. “Let’s set up a landing zone for our boys.”

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As a furious rain of blue blaster bolts rained down on him and his men, Bly couldn’t help but feel as though he should have planned for this a bit better.

When he had gotten reports of a potential breach in the hanger, he had left Aayla in charge on the bridge and left to assess the damage. By the time he reached the area, however, it was clear that this wasn’t battle damage. Mostly due to the 21st Battalion marines that were shooting at him and his men, of course.

“Tyto, how many mags you got left?!” Bly called out from behind his cover, earning a scoff from his lieutenant in response. 

“Two, sir.” He answered, handing one to Patch beside him. “What’s the play here, sir? They’re moving up!”  
  


Bly peeked around the corner and discovered that the soldiers were indeed pushing forward, blasting his brothers as they did so. A dark, angry feeling started to churn in his chest as he leaned over and squeezed off two shots from his rifle, each meeting their mark and sending two marines crumpling to the ground before a new surge of fire forced him back behind cover.

“We go down swinging. Prime your blasters, boys. We’re charging on three!” He announced, hefting his rifle and glancing at his brothers on both sides of him. “Ready, men?”

“We got your back, commander!” Tyto confirmed, priming his own rifle in preparation. Next to him, Patch and Crackshot both readied their own weapons while Able, Glass, Raul and two shinies mirrored the action next to Bly. 

“One...two...THREE!” Bly roared before emerging from behind his cover alongside the rest of his men and unleashing torrents of blue bolts on the attacking clones. Marine after marine fell, their screams echoing in the air and mixing with their 327th brothers. Still Bly and his men pushed on, firing shot after shot as they advanced through the chaotic hanger, patches of fire and wreckage doing little to halt their advance.

“Fight for our brothers, boys! For the Jedi!” The commander cheered as they cleared a destroyed gunship, coming upon the final contingent of 21st troops. “FOR THE REPU-”  
  


Suddenly, a blaster bolt collided with Bly’s chest, sending searing pain throughout his body. As he hit the ground, the shouts of his brothers permeated the air and mixed with the blaster fire. With every fiber of strength left, he tried to sit back up, ignoring the flaring pain that wracked his body in response. His action was brought to a halt as a pair of armored arms looped through his own, dragging him away from the firefight. 

“Hold on, sir. Just hold on.” Patch whispered, stopping behind a stack of crates and setting his commander down. “The general is on her way, just hold on-”  
  


A blaster bolt connected with the medic’s shoulder at this point, sending him to the ground with a clatter. Bly barley pulled himself up as Bacara rounded the corner, offering the fallen clone medic a disdainful glare before turning his attention back to the commander.

“Why’d you do it, Bly? Why did you disobey the order?” He asked angrily, sparking a broken chuckle from the fallen commander. 

“Because that order were _karking shit_ , Bacara.” Bly answered venimently. “The Jedi haven’t done anything to deserve this, the chancellor is manipulating you.”

“Maybe he is. Maybe this is all some elaborate set up.” Bacara mused, before lifting his rifle and placing it against Bly’s helmeted head. “I don’t care. Good soldiers follow orders.”

As a tired, broken feeling settled in Bly’s chest, he closed his eyes and sent a final message to his Jedi, praying she would hear it.

_I’m sorry, Aayla. I love you._

Suddenly, the familiar sound of a lightsaber igniting clipped through the tense silence, making Bly’s eyes snapback open. Aayla stood behind Bacara, holding her lightsaber just before his throat, a look of undeniable rage on her face. 

“You are going to order your men to stand down, commander, or you’re going to lose your head.” She explained, tone even but firm. After a few tense seconds, Bacara muttered a few explicatives, dropped his blaster, and opened his commlink. 

“All units, stand down.”

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“And that should about do it.” Rex announced as he finished up the diagnostics on the Jedi Temple’s communication center. “You should be properly linked in with our comm systems, now. Did I miss anything, Kix?”

“No, this should be all captain.” The 501st medic answered, offering a polite nod to Master Windu, who watched nearby. “If you need any help, I’m willing to lend a hand.”

“Thank you, trooper. I’ll keep it in mind.” The Jedi master responded, before turning back to Rex. “And thank you, captain. I know you’re risking a lot by helping us.”  
  


“I protect my own, sir. And after all that the Jedi have done for me and my brothers, you definitely qualify.” Rex assured him, coexing a rare smile from the stoic man. The doors to the rest of the temple opened, revealing Ahsoka, Barris, and Fox.

  
“Ah, Master Windu! Could I borrow you for a moment?” The togruta asked innocently, flashing the Jedi a seemingly forced smile. “I wanted to discuss...personal matters with you.”

“Oh, and some of the shock troopers need your assistance, Kix.” Barris added quickly. “Something about an electrostaff burn?”

  
“Tch, I told Gears not to mess with that thing before Spades had a chance to fix it!” The medic chided, storming out of the center while mumbling about how foolish his fellow troopers were. 

“Very well, Ahsoka. Lead the way.” Mace acknowledged, starting towards the exit and walking alongside the padawan. Rex started for the exit as well, only for Barriss to stop him.

“Apologies, Captain, but this is for your own good.” She insisted, before shooting Fox a pointed look bordering between stern and hopeful. “Good luck.”

With that, the former Jedi exited the room, leaving the two troopers alone. For a brief moment, Rex was tempted to leave. To walk right out of that room, away from whatever spiel Fox had prepared, away from the bastard who _killed his brother_ -

“So, I’m assuming you weren't aware this was happening?” 

Rex’s mental tirade of thoughts was ended as with Fox’s question, bringing him back to reality.

“No, I wasn’t.” Rex confirmed, forcing himself to be mature. “Let me guess; Ahsoka talked you into this?”

“Technically, yes. She insisted I speak with you about “whatever was happening between us”.” The shock commander confirmed, crossing his arms. “Doesn’t mean I disagree with her assessment, though.”

“Is that right?” Rex asked, irritation starting to seep into his voice. Fox noticed this, and uncrossed his arms, his tone becoming more genuine.

“Rex...we both know a sorry isn’t going to change what happened. What...I did.” 

“What you did was _shoot my brother_. **_YOUR BROTHER!_ **” Rex shouted, composure finally failing as he stormed forward, getting right up in Fox’s face. “HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO FIVES? HOW?!”

“...I was told that good soldiers followed orders.” Fox answered quietly, bowing his head in shame. “When the chancellor said...that Fives needed to be taken care off...I-I just wanted to do my duty, Rex.”

“Your duty? You killed our brother for duty?” Rex asked, rage fizzling out as he took a step back. “I can’t believe you.”

To his surprise, Fox’s head rose and he tore off his helmet, revealing a snarling, crying man beneath it.

“I DON’T NEED YOU BELIEVE ME, I NEED YOU TO UNDERSTAND ME!” He cried, desperation mixing with rage in his voice. “EVERY DAY I WAKE UP, LOOK AT MYSELF, AND ALL I SEE IS A FUCKING MURDERER! **I KILLED MY OWN BROTHER WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT AND I HATE MYSELF FOR IT**!”

The words practically echo within the enclosed center, ragged breaths following the shock commander’s confession as he fell to his knees and desperately tried to catch his breath. As he did so, Rex knelt beside him, and for the first time since the incident he felt more than anger towards his brother. 

“Fox...I’m so sorry.”

“Please. Please don’t do that.” Fox protested between breaths, racking a gauntlet across his face to stop the tears. “I don’t deserve forgiveness.”

“Maybe...maybe not yet.” Rex muttered, before placing a hand on Fox’s shoulder and offering him a gentle smile. “But if you mean what you said, then there’s hope for you yet, brother.”

Rex helped Fox to his feet, studying him intently. As Fox brushed the last of his tears away, he gave the captain this sad look, and inkling of hope within a mass of doubt. Still, he forced a smile to his face, and nodded. 

“Thank you, Rex.”

Suddenly, the doors opened, revealing Ahsoka and Barriss. Fox hastily shoved his helmet back on his head while Rex stepped forward.

“Is there something wrong, Ahsoka?” He asked, realizing that her expression was one of nervousness and alarm. The former padawan nodded in confirmation, before gesturing toward the entrance of the temple itself, fire in her tone. 

“We have incoming.”

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Nala Se watched the wall of monitors before her, a small smile playing at the edges of her lips as she watched her creations come online and join their squads. They were infinitely better than the clones she had originally helped create, compromised organics all too prone to letting their hearts get ahead of their brains.

  
With her new creations, there was no heart. Nothing but combat programming, a multitude of weapon systems, and an artificial desire to kill. They were marvelous.

  
Of course, there were the...others. Nala didn’t care for them as much, as they were still clones even with their improvements. Especially the one with... _his face_. Still, she did appreciate the chancellor’s bid at psychological warfare, so why the hell not? not like it could hurt at this point.

“ ** _Ma’am, all units have arrived at their rondevu points and are prepared to attack. Permission to execute targets?_ ** _”_

Nala didn’t take her eyes off the screen as she pressed the button on her commlink, smile still composed despite the giddy feeling in her chest. She always loved seeing her work in action.

“Confirmed.”


	13. Reinforcements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Palpatine unleashes his secret army, and the Clone Coalition gains more support. However, the war is at a new high, and blood will be shed.

It started as a low clatter.

  
Trapper didn’t think much of it, at first. Why would he? They were in a shipyard, after all. Moving machinery was expected. However, as the clattering got louder, more concise, almost to the rhythm of foot falls…

“Hey...you hear that, vod’?” One of the shinies asked, tilting his head in confusion as he joined Trapper. “The hell is that?”

The only response the trooper received was a blaster bolt colliding with his head, taking his helmet clear off. Trapper quickly dove for cover, an action that was mirrored by his fellow clones as they all scattered throughout the area, lunging between whatever cover they could find.

“Ronin, contact Boil! Tell him we’re under attack!” Trapper shouted as another blast soared over his head, colliding with a steel beam next to him. Taking the calculated risk, he then peeked around the corner of the crate he was behind and squeezed off a few shots in the direction he expected the hostile fire came from.

Another burst of fire practically ripped the rifle out of the troopers arms, sending him sprawling backwards. He had barely made it back to his knees when the first droid lept atop the crate.

  
The model was...different. It’s appearance seemed to be a mix between the Separatist BX-series commando droid and IG-series assassin droid, it’s chasie coated in dark red and grey paint. A vibrosword was attached to both of its arms, and an E-5 Blaster Rifle in its right hand. It’s eyes flared red when it spotted the trooper, and raised it’s blaster to fire, only for a trio of blue bolts to collide with its chest and send it sprawling backward.

“Hold strong, boys! This is what we’re trained to do!” One of the troopers crowed, helping Trapper to his feet just as three more droids appeared. And then six more. And then twelve. And then suddenly, the entire shipyard was alive with the sound of blaster fire.

  
The droids surged forward, some wielding riot shields while others jumped and flipped with pre-programmed grace, swing forward to blast or slash troopers with deathly efficiency. The men of the 212th and 91st fought for every inch of ground they were standing on, but even with their numbers, they didn’t stand a chance.

“Fall back into the control room!” Glen shouted, frantically typing in the code to the main entrance. The door opened slowly, allowing the clones to fall back over time, attempting to take out as many droids as possible as they did so. Finally, once the doors were fully opened, the clones rushed inside.

  
“Hit the doors, Glen!” Trapper shouted as he fired six more shots into an advancing droid. The 91st lieutenant did as he was told, and within seconds the doors started to close. The clones kept up their fire, barely holding back the droids as the large blast doors closed. 

“ _Trapper, this is General Kenobi. Do you read me?”_ The Jedi general asked over his commlink. “ _Cody and I have seen what looked like a firefight in the shipyards. What is your current status?”_

“We’re under attack, sir!” The trooper reported as he and his fellow clones started to fall back into the facility. “A bunch of new hybrid-commando droids attacked our position. We’ve been pushed back into the loading facility.”

“ _Blast...fall back to the control room. Commander Cody and I will join you via the service elevator.”_ Obi-Wan explained, his tone calm despite the complications. “ _Stand strong, trooper, and may the Force be with you.”_

“Copy that, general.” Trapper replied, before disabling his commlink and continuing his trek to the control room alongside his brothers, hoping to arrive before the droids broke through the door.

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“Jesse! What’s the situation?” Rex asked as he and Ahsoka came to a stop at the edge of the Jedi Temple’s courtyard. Now that the gunships were gone, the 501st and unassigned legions had formed perimeter around the area using shields, crates, and turrets.

“We have droids incoming, captain.” The ARC trooper explained, handing Ahsoka a pair of binocs while Rex activated his rangefinder. “About 60 droids, coming in waves of 20. They’ve already started ascending the stairs, and should be here in about thirty seconds.”

“Then we don’t have any time to waste.” Rex concluded, disabling his rangefinder and turning back to his second in command. “Organise the men. Get a firing line ready, have Denal and Tock get on the turrets. Fox, get back inside the temple and inform General Windu of the situation.”  
  


“I’m staying with you, you know.” Ahsoka assured the captain as the clones began to disperse, shouting order and getting into position. Rex just gave her a warm smile, pulling his DC-17s and giving them an experimental spin.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, ‘Soka.”

“All units, open fire!” Jesse shouted, followed by the entirety of the 501st lighting up the stairs in a blue rain of hot blaster fire. The advancing droids continued their advance, some raising shields or dodging shots, while others were destroyed in seconds by the wave of plasma. 

When the first few droids reached the top of the stairs, they dropped their shields and blasters and instead activated the vibroswords and lunged towards the troopers, hacking and slashing the clones apart with ease. 

“Shit! They’ve broken the line!” A trooper shouted, turning his Z-6 on the droids and gunning two down before the third plunged its vibrosword through his chest, followed by a shriek of pain.

“No! Hold! EVERYONE HOLD!” Rex cried, firing shot after shot into another advancing droid. Deep down, he knew it was already too late. The line was collapsing fully now, with the troopers that were not being hacked to pieces instead being shot or rammed with riot shields. Even with Ahoska’s help, the sheer number of advancing droids was too much for the ever shrinking number of clones, who were forced to slowly fall back in a semi-circle formation.

“Rex, we’re running out of breathing room here!” Jesse hissed as he blasted another advancing droid. They met the edge of the stairs eventually, with the droids now numbering near the hundreds. As the droids surrounded them, the blaster fire slowled. The clone went into defensive positions, but the droids stopped their advance. “Um...Rex?”

“Hold...hold fire.” The captain responded, holding up his hand to signal the men to stop. The droids, still standing their ground, parted and let an entirely red droid of the same model stride to the front of their line, closing ranks once it passed. The droid paused for a moment, before a speaker within the unit clicked to life, a feminaine voice ringing out from within.

“ **_Hello again, CT-7567. It’s been quite some time._ **”

Rex flinched when he heard her voice. It would have been hard not to. She was always so cold, so...empty. Even back when they were cadets, she was intimidating. To hear her sound so...amused. It was upsetting, to say the least.

“Nala Se. I shouldn’t even be surprised.” He retorted, glaring at the droid. “You longnecks always had a hand in all of this, just like Fives said.”

**_“Yes,_ ** **_CT-27-5555 was quite the tenacious little detective.”_ ** The scientist admitted, annoyance audible in her tone. **_“It was truly a shame we had to dispose of him. He was quite the asset, after all. Still, defective products are disposed of for a reason.”_ **

Rex set his jaw, but composed himself hastily. He knew that the scientist was trying to rile him up, to get his mind off the temple. Instead, he raised his pistols, locking them on the main droid, sneering beneath his helmet.

“So, you here to tell us something, or are you just here to waste air?” 

A harsh bark of a laugh filtered through the droids speaker, echoing in the morning air and putting Rex on edge.

**_“Always so to the point. I can respect that.”_ ** The scientist commended condescendingly. **_“On behalf of Chancellor Palpatine, I am here to offer you all one final chance to surrender. Lay down your arms, and you will be spared for your treason against the Republic.”_ **

“And if we refuse?” Ahsoka quirried, grip tightening on her lightsabers as the droid’s head shriveled to face her.

**_“Then you shall die alongside the Jedi as traitors to the Republic.”_ ** Nala Se stated coldly, before her droid’s head turned back to Rex. **_“What say you, captain? Duty or attachment?”_ **

Rex stared down the droid, the two watching each other for what seemed like minutes. Eventually, the captain spoke again, his voice resolute and determined.

“My brothers and I will die before we let you touch the temple.”

Nala Se made a sound akin to a disappointed sigh, followed by all the droids training their weapons on the rebellious clones once more, an action the clones mirrored.

**_“It’s a shame, really.”_ ** She mused, her droid raising its own blaster. **_“You would have done wonderfully in the Em-”_ **

A blaster bolt took the droid’s head off it’s shoulders, ending the scientist’s spiel prematurely. Following this was a new torrent of blue blaster bolts raining down on the droid army, all from the now open doors of the Jedi temple. Rex shouted the order to retreat, falling in alongside Ahsoka as the remaining 501st soldiers fell back, covered by the Shock Trooper brothers and a few Jedi Sentinels.

“All of you, inside, NOW!” Mace Windu shouted, lightsaber lit in his prosthetic hand, courtesy of Kix and Stim. “Thorn, the second your men are inside, get those doors shut!”

“ _Understood, General. We’ll get it done.”_ The shock commander replied, covering his retreating brothers as best he could from the rising tide of advancing droids. As soon as the last trooper entered the temple, the doors began to close. “ _Sealing all exits to the temple, sir. Now it’s just a matter of defending the area.”_

“Excellent work, Commander. Get to the command center, we’ll regroup and strategize once we’re all together.” Mace ordered, before disabling his comm and turning to Ahsoka and Rex. “Are you alright?”

  
“We’re fine.” Ahsoka responded, catching her breath as she holstered her sabers. “I’ve never seen droids like that before. What the hell are they?”

“No kriffing idea, but I know they’re trouble.” Jesse quipped, earning a chuckle from a few of his surviving brothers. “They got the armor of a Super, and the mobility of a commando. If they had the Destroyer’s shields, we’d really be in trouble.”

“Don’t give them any ideas, vod’e.” Rex replied, rousing another scatter of laughs and raising morale slightly as he turned back to Mace. “We’re meeting in the command center, sir?”

“Indeed, captain. Tell your men to fall back to the archives for now.” Mace instructed, nodding at the clones in question. “Once we develop a proper strategy for defending ourselves, we can contact Kenobi or our allies in orbit.”

“I hope they’re doing alright.” Ahsoka mused as she moved alongside the Jedi master and clone captain towards the command center, worried for her fellow rebels but confident they would hold their own.

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Another blast rocked the _Tranquility II,_ forcing Veronica to grab hold of the holo table to stabilize herself, a vicious sneer on her face. 

“Grey, what’s your status, dammit?!”

_“We’re doing what we can, but we’ve lost a third of our fighters!”_ The clone commander hissed, looking just as distressed as the admiral. “ _We need to take that lead destroyer, now!”_

“I’m open to suggestions!” Veronica growled, taking a mental headcount. The _Liberty II_ and _Resolute_ were holding their own, but the _Negotiator II_ had lost it’s shield generator and both the 91st and 104th Venators were heavily damaged and out of commission.

“ _Well...I got one.”_ A new voice chimed in, before Commander Blanc appeared on the table, frantically typing away at a console. “ _But you’re not gonna like it.”_

Suddenly, the single Acclamator class carrier that had been hanging back with the Coursers began to advance, it’s engines in full thrust and it’s escape pods and gunships launching in mass.

“Blanc, what the hell are you doing?!” Veronica asked, though deep down she already knew the answer. They needed to take out the main Venator, otherwise they’d never make it to the surface. Their mission would be over before it started. But...if Blanc used the Acclamator to destroy the Venator, clearing the path...

“ _I’m doing my duty, ma’am._ ” Blanc responded stoically, still focused on the console before him. “ _If we can’t reinforce the ground teams, it’s game over. Once I make this hole, you have to press the attack, or all of this will have been for nothing!”_

“ _Vod’e...if you do this, you’ll die.”_ Doom stated, his tone defeated, as though he already knew his plea would fall on deaf ears. “ _All of your men will be left without leadership. Without their brother.”_

_“They’ll be strong. They have each other, and Shaak Ti as well.”_ The commander retorted, before pausing in his process, and finally turning to face the others. _“...tell her that I’m sorry it came to this.”_

The green and grey commander hung his head, mumbling a series of curses before raising his head and nodding in confirmation. Blanc nodded in return, fixing his attention back on the control console and typing in the final coordinates.

“ _We only get one shot at this, folks.”_ He stated, starting out the viewport of the Aclamator,m the beauty of space muted by the war zone around him. “ _Make it count.”_

And with those final words, the transmission cut and the Acclamator’s engines roared, sending the ship towards the blockade at the highest speed it could manage outside of hyperspace. The Venators had realized what they were up to at this point, unleashing torrent after torrent of cannon fire onto the transport, but it was already too late.

The Acclamator collided with the lead venator within seconds, the resounding destruction following as the two ships violently exploded, momentarily creating a whole in the blocade’s defenses.

“All units, be advised.” Veronica announced, blinking away the tears in her eyes knowing full well that Blanc wouldn’t be the last soldier to die on that day. “Advance and take out the remaining ships. We’re ending this. Now.”

“ _Admiral, there’s still too many of them!”_ Warthog cried, still in a heated dog fight alongside his brothers. “ _We’ll never make it!”_

_“Not without help.”_

Suddenly, the radar station nearest to Veronica went wild with noise, as new ships appeared on sensor. First one, then two, then nearly a dozen. She exchanged a knowing smile with Gree, and the smallest of smiles rose on her face. This was their ace in the hole.

Before they had jumped to Coruscant, Rex insisted that they send one team out after discovering that his transmision had only been heard on Republic frequencies. Master Yoda and Delta Squad had volunteered to try and get a stronger signal out and rally any remaining allies to Coruscant before it was too late. Now, it appeared those allies had arrived.

The first two ships to arrive were a mandalorian _Kom'rk_ -class fighter and the _Havoc Marauder,_ both of which signed off moments later. 

“ _This is Bo-Katan of Mandalore, allying myself with the Clone Coalition against Chancellor Sheev Palpatine.”_

_“This is Hunter, suad leader of Clone Force 99. Give Captain Rex our regards.”_

Following this, the other dozen ships emerged from hyperspace. Two more Venators, several retro-fitted transports and shuttles, and even a Seperatist Dreadnought, all identifying themselves as they appeared. 

“ _This is Jaro Tapal of the 13th Legion.”_

_“This is Captain Vaughn of the 332nd Legion.”_

_“_ **_This is General Kalani, announcing a truce between the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Clone Coalition until the capture of Chancellor Sheev Palpatine.”_ **

_“This is THE Hondo Ohnaka, declaring myself an ally to the Jedi and their many clone friends.”_

Now with a plethora of fresh fighters and ships, Veronica opened a comm to the rest of the blockade, addressing the remaining ships with all the confidence she could muster.

“This is Admiral Veronica Holden. On behalf of the Clone Coalition, I am offering you one final chance to stand down. No more bloodshed is required. I repeat, this is your last chance.”

The following seconds felt like hours, but finally, a clone’s voice replied through the comm.

“ _This is Captain Chaos of 5th Fleet Security, we are standing down. Repeat, all forces are standing down.”_

A responding cheer crossed the bridge as Veronica and the commanders released a sigh of relief. She closed the comm, and opened a second one to Master Yoda, still onboard the nu-class attack shuttle with the clone commandos. 

“You came in the knick of time, Master.” She commented, turning her gaze back to Coruscant, a twisted feeling of nervousness still present in her chest. “Now it’s all on the ground team…”

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By the time Obi-Wan and Cody descended to the control room, troops from both the 91st and 212th were evacuating the facility, teams of twenty using the cargo elevator to ascend to a better vantage point. Neyo, Stass, and a handful of troopers were all that were left by the time they arrived.

“Master Kenobi, I’m glad to see you’re alright.” Stass greeted, her expression relieved and grim all out once. “As you can see, however, we’ve run into a problem.”  
  


“My men were trying to set up the lifts so that our ships could land when they found that the settings for the system had been altered remotely.” Neyo explained, gesturing to the panel he was standing next to with a sneer. “The pads have to be raised manually before they can descend back to the landing bay.”

“So, in other words, we’d have to stay here for the entirety of the docking process?” Obi-Wan summarized, receiving nods of confirmation from both the Jedi and clone.

“And since those droids we encountered are closing in faster and faster, we’ve got maybe ten minutes before they breach the blast doors and overtake us.” Neyo added, casting a disdainful look towards said doors, hands drifting to his holstered DC-15s. “There wouldn’t be enough time to escape.”

“Well then, this is quite the dilemma, isn’t it?” The bearded Jedi commented, a sad smile on his face. “However, I think we all know the proper course of action.”

“You’re right, general.” Cody responded, discreetly switching his blaster to stun. “We do.”

The stun round connected with Obi-Wan’s back a second later, a following one colliding with Stass’s, sending both Jedi to the ground. Both commanders looked at each other, a silent agreement passing between them before they turned to the remaining troopers.

“Boil, Glen. Get the general’s to safety. If we’re not out in ten minutes, blow the elevators behind us.” Cody ordered, covering Neyo as he started to initiate the system. 

“Sir...it’s been an honor serving with you.” Boil responded, wishing he could stay with his superiors but knowing that the Jedi came first. Cody nodded to his second in command, a hidden smile beneath his helmet. 

“Likewise, Boil. Likewise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...hey everyone. It's been a hot minute since I've updated this story. Sorry for the wait, but between school, quarantine, and life...eh, things slipped away from me a bit.
> 
> However, I'm glad to say my full focus is back on this story, and I'll get back to releasing chapters as normal, starting with this one! 
> 
> So, few other quick notes:  
> *I watched Star Wars Season 7 in it's entirety, cried, and am now cycling pieces of the season into this fic. Hope you like the Bad Batch, 'cause they're coming in hot.  
> *I've warned in the past that there will be casualties in this war, and now, you're going to help me make them. Select A or B, then post the letter with your comment. Be warned, lives are now in your hands ;)
> 
> That's all for now, hope you enjoy the chapter!  
> Mega


	14. Casualties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Battle for Coruscant rages on, and the bodies start to pile up.

When the Jedi and commanders assembled in the control room, they found Cin and Barriss waiting for them, standing next to the holotable projecting an image of the temple. The knight nodded to Mace, addressing the newcomers.

“Master Windu, the Temple is holding strong. We’ve had no breaches as of yet.” He reported, gesturing to the image before them. “However, the amassing hostiles are spreading out and probing our weak points. We need a new plan of attack.”

“I concur. A move needs to be made.” Mace stated, turning his allies and distributing orders. “Captain, Commander. Get into contact with your men, have them reinforce the Temple’s weak points. When the time comes, we’ll make our push and force them back.”

“Understood, sir. We’ll get it done.” Rex replied, before leaving with Thorn to fulfil their instructions. 

“Where could these droids even be coming from?” Ahsoka mused, scanning the holomap with keen eyes. “There’d have to be a droid factory on Coruscant.”

  
“It’s not impossible. The industrial sectors have been busier and busier lately.” Mace mused, before an open communique was registered on the holotable. “Cin, put it up.”

The knight nodded, and with a few button presses, Veronica Holden appeared in place of the temple. 

_ “Master Windu! It’s good to see you, sir.”  _ Veronica greeted, snapping into a salute before continuing. “ _ We’ve broken through the blockade, and our first Venator is making its descent. It’ll take us some time to get landed, but once we do we can send support to Temple and the shipyard.” _

“I’m glad to hear that, Admiral. We’re currently under siege, and need all the firepower we can get.” Mace replied, before a second line was hailed on the table. “Keep us updated, Holden. Windu out.”

  
The line closed, and suddenly Commander Fox appeared in Veronica’s place, pistols drawn. 

“ _ General, the droids have breached the hangar! _ ” He reported, tone desperate and full of what the Jedi could perceive as fear. “ _ They’re pushing their way into the temple! We need support!” _

_   
_ Mace and Ahsoka alike both tensed, the threat of the temple falling now fully realized. Before either could ask for his current position, and explosion occurred, and the transmission cut.

“Tano, get to the hangar and find Commander, now.” Mace ordered, turning to Cin in the same breath. “And assemble the temple guard. We’re pushing these droids back. We will not fall today.”

Cin nodded, and sent out the call. Ahsoka moved to leave, but paused as she saw the conflicted expression on Barriss’s face. Mace seemed to notice this as well, and his posture straitened. 

  
“Offee.” He addressed, making the former Jedi jump in surprise. Her eyes only got wider as the Jedi Master unclipped her saber from his belt, offering it to her with weary but hopeful eyes. “Don’t make me regret this.”

  
Barriss tentatively took the weapon as if it was a living thing, turning it over in her hands and inspecting it with care. Slowly, a look of certainty crossed her face, and she met Mace’s eyes.

  
“I won’t.”

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Fox wasn’t bothered by a lot. There were a few select things, yes, past traumas and such. But naturally in day to day life, not much shook the commander. Despite the quips that were always present about how the Coruscant Guard was the most boring unit, they didn’t slouch in the action department.

  
And yet, as he slumped on a large pillar, ears ringing and blasters drawn, he felt fear grip his very soul.

  
They had been in the process of sealing the hangar when the droids attacked. Originally, there hadn’t been too many, and Fox’s squad had held their own...but then more came. Almost a hundred droids either crawled or leaped their way into the hangar, and started pushing forward.

  
They were in one of the corridors, now. He couldn’t remember which. His men...no, his  _ brothers _ were making a stand, trying to keep the ever advancing wave of droids back. One of them turned and shouted something to him, before a blaster bolt connected with his head, making him fall. He didn’t get back up.

  
Sound started to return at that point, and Fox pulled himself together enough to lean around the corner and squeeze off a few shots in the direction of the advancing droids. It was a rough estimate, but looked like around 60 remained. They weren't jumping around anymore, no more commando droid-esqe acrobatics. Now, they were just marching, machines of war spreading an endless torrent of death.

“Sir! We need to go!” A trooper screamed, finally getting the commander’s attention. With the assistance of adrenaline, both troopers practically threw themselves through the doorway at the end of the hall, the emergency blast doors slamming shut behind them. 

“That should hold them...for a few seconds.” Another trooper muttered, helmet long gone and hair drenched with sweat. Fox glanced around, and realized only 4 troopers remained of what had been a squad of 10. “What do we do now?”   
  


“Fall back to the staircase.” Fox ordered, the words leaving his mouth before he could consider them. “Lock the remaining blast doors behind you. I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”

  
“Kriffing hell, you’ll be dead in seconds, Fox!” One of the troopers hissed. Fox could tell, helmet or no, that the trooper was young. Probably fresh from Kamino, too. Behind his helmet, he smiled sadly, wondering how many of his brothers he’d let down over the years. No more.

“Don’t underestimate me, kid. Now get moving.”

He can tell the troopers want to argue, but for one reason or another, they obeyed and started down the hall. Silently, Fox raised his pistols and went into a defensive stance, determined that if he was going to die, he was going to go out protecting his brothers. 

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Cody growled a series of mando expletives as he locked the controls down, the incessant hissing of a breaching charge echoing in the small control room. 

  
“You know, we really should have taken one of those courses Cyrs was always offering.” Neyo mused, loading and leveling it on the door, adjusting the scope. “Never thought we’d need it, yet here we are.”

“I did take the course, vod’. Why do you think I’m the one doing this?” Cody snarked, finishing up his preparation and scanning the screen one last time. All they needed to do was hold the line for one more minute. Then the uplink would be established, and even if the clankers blew the console to hell, the ships would still be able to land. “Ready for this, Neyo?”   
  


“Honestly, I think Salucmai was worse!” Neyo replied, shooting his brother a smile, one visible even without the helmet. “It’s been an honor, Cody.”

  
“Likewise, Neyo. Now let’s give the tinnies a fight they’ll never forget.” The 212th commander growled, training his own rifle on the door and waiting. The breaching charge ended, and they waited...and waited…

And then the doors exploded.

  
Blaster fire filled the entire room in seconds, from both clones and advancing droids. Cody advanced swiftly, placeing bolt after bolt in droid’s heads and turning them into smoldering wrecks of metal. Neyo cut off the few that got past the marshal commander with precision and ease, giving the droids now ground as the timer ticked on.

The minute felt like seconds, the shrill chirp of the console cutting through the noise and alert both clones that the uplink was complete, and their Ventors were now cleared for landing.

  
“Fall back, Codes! Move it!” Neyo shouted, making a break for the service elevator at the end of the hall. He turned back around once he reached the lift, just in time to see two blaster bolts collide with his brother’s back, sending him to the ground. “CODY!”

“Just...go!” The commander shouted, his plea falling of deaf ears as Neyo spirited back out, firing a few shots to hold the droids back as he dragged his fallen brother to the lift, practically punching the activation pad and raising them.

  
“Stay with me, vod’e. We’re almost out of here.” Neyo muttered, tossing aside his pistol after realizing there was no charge left. Cody didn’t move, barley even breathing. “Codes? C’mon, pull it together, soldier!”

  
“Tell...tell Rex...that I’m sorry.” 

  
The words were broken, tired. The sound of ragged breathing and the dull hum of the elevator’s hydraulics were all that filled the cramped space as the elevator rose to the top pad. The rest of both battalions were set up there, either cheering as the Venator’s carrying their brothers soared through the sky towards their landing pads or taking pot shots at the remaining droids.

Obi-wan and Stass were the first to approach, and even before Neyo picked up his brother, he could see their expressions fall. The words exchanged were quiet, practically unintelligible as he handed the commander off to the nearest medic and ordered Boil to blow the elevators. Their job was done, but it had come at a heavy cost.

_ I hope you find peace, vod’ika.  _

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Ahsoka and Barriss ran through the halls of the temple, passing clones and fellow Jedi alike as they booked it towards Fox’s last known location. Eventually, they came across one of the blast doors, which was currently guarded by several Jedi Sentinels and a single knight, Serra Keto.

“Tano, Coffee. Master Windu informed me of your mission.” She greeted, drawing her own lightsabers. “I have elected to join you and save whoever remains of the commander’s squad.”

  
“Thank you, Keto. The extra firepower can’t hurt.” Ahsoka replied, before the blast doors opened, allowing the three through. “Now let’s move. There's only a few few more corridors, so if we’re quick-”

  
Suddenly, four clones skidded around the far corner of the hall, all looking quite panicked. Ahsoka recognized the one without a helmet, a transfer name Pauling. The second their eyes met, the trooper looked relieved.

  
“Commanders!” He shouted, running over to them with the rest of his team in tow. “Thank to force you’re here! We got overrun in the hanger, and...the clankers just kept coming!”   
  
“Calm down trooper, you’re safe now.” Ahsoka assured him, before alarm flickered in the Jedi’s eyes. “Where is Commander Fox?”

  
“He...he stayed behind, ma’am. Said he’d buy us all the time he could.” One of the other troopers admitted, tone bordering on ashamed. Ahsoka and Keto shared a look of remorse, but Barriss…

  
“Damn you, Fox.” The former Jedi hissed, before drawing her lightsaber and igniting the blade. “I’m going in after him.”

“Not alone, you’re not.” Ahsoka replied, before addressing Keto. “New plan, fall back with the clones. We’ll lock the doors once we find Commander Fox.”

“Very well. May the force be with you, Ahsoka.” The knight replied, before pulling with the remaining troopers and allowing the two former Padawans to continue deeper into the temple.

The pair crossed another two corridors before the sound of blaster bolts met their ears. Barriss was the first around the corner, promptly slicing a droid in half and pushing it’s upper body into another nearby one. Ahsoka decapitated the next two as they drew their vibro blades, swiping elegantly through another three with precision and grace. 

  
The remaining eight droids pushed forward, firing off shots at the two, only to either have those shots deflected back at them or cut the droids apart with ease. 

  
“Fox! Fox, are you in here?” Barriss called out, disabling her lightsaber as she stepped forward, searching the area for a sign of the clone among the smoldering remains of droids. 

  
Quietly, a groan sounded from the far corner of the hall, where the droids seemed to be stacked highest. Ahsoka and Barriss both sprinted in it’s direction, pulling away the limp remains of droids until the trooper beneath was visible.

  
His red and white armor was now coated in black blast marks, and judging by the way his head hung, he didn’t have much time left.

  
“...Offee...Tano?” He groaned, hisses of pain filtering through his helmet’s speaker. “What the hell are you two doing here?”   
  


“Looking for you, idiot!” Barriss hissed, less out of anger and more concern. “Damn you, Fox. Damn you for this!”

  
“Fox. I...I don’t think…” Ahsoka tried, only to falter half way. Her message was still understood all the same, however, as a broken chuckle slipped past the commander’s lips.

  
“Yeah. Yeah, I know. Not your fault.” He growled, raising his head enough to meet both of their eyes. “For what it’s worth...was an honor to serve at your sides. Just wish...I got it right...the first time…”

Fox’s head started to dip once more, but a before it could fall, Barriss grabbed it, pulling it back up to meet her eyes.

  
“You’re not dying here, Fox. Not today.” She promised, her eyes slick with tears but her tone firm. “I’ve lost too many friends to this war, and I will die before I lose another!” 

Barriss then closed her eyes, and lowered one hand just above Fox’s chest, muttering something to herself. Suddenly, a small, blue light appeared between the wounds and the former Jedi’s hand. Ahsoka watched in shock as the light flared a bit brighter, Fox’s posture straightening out.    
  
Then, just as quickly as it occurred, Barriss let out a sharp gasp and slumped backwards, visibly exhausted now. Ahsoka moved forward, attempting to stabilize her and managing an amazed smile.

  
“Did...did you just?!”   
  
“Force Heal? Yes, I did.” Barriss confirmed, steadying her breathing and standing with Ahsoka’s assistance. “Are you alright, Fox?”

“Better than I was ten seconds ago.” He mused, slowly hauling himself to his feet, still a little shaky as he fixed the former Jedi with an amazed look. “You...saved my life, Barriss.”

“Of course I did.” She replied, smiling warmly at the man across from her. “You’d do the same for me.”

Something...different lingered in the air now. A new bond forged between the pair. Ahsoka smiled to herself, glad that even in the midst of such dark times, people could still find the light.

  
Her communicator beamed sharply, catching her attention. She turned it on, and was shown a hologram of Master Windu.

  
“Master, I have good news! Barriss and I found Fox, we’re on our way back!”

  
“ _ That is wonderful news, Tano, but I’m afraid we have another problem.” _ The older man replied, expression grim, even given the circumstances. “ _ The droids are making their push on our weak points. Get back up to the command center, it’s time we make our move.” _

\--------------

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\--------------

Anakin watched the gunships soare through the Coruscant sky, his chest tight and fists clenched. This wasn’t the plan. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He just wanted to save Padme, but now the entire Jedi Order was at risk, and the clones...they weren’t themselves either.

  
It was really starting to set in how badly he’d messed up. The Senate was on lockdown, so he couldn’t even get to Padme, not that it mattered at this point. Now it was clear that he had been fooled, tricked by his own ambitions. And now, he had to shudder accordingly.

  
_ Damn it all. I should have listened to Obi-Wan. _ He growled, before physically jolting in surprise.  _ Wait! Obi-Wan! He’ll know how to fix this, how to take care of Palpatine! I just need to reach out to him. Maybe...maybe the Force still connects us. _

And so, that’s what the Skywalker did. He probed outward with the Force, and tried to find his master, to ask for guidance and knowledge. At first, there was nothing. Then…

_ Anakin, you have _ **_a lot_ ** _ to explain. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, so...hey everyone! It's, uh...been a bit. 
> 
> Sorry that this took THREE DAMN MONTHS to finish, I just had some...rewrites to work on. I'm sad to say that the ending of this story has officially been changed three times, and as such, I kinda hit a lull in uploading. So, sincerely, I am sorry for the delay. Going forward, this fic is getting all the attention I can give it.
> 
> Also, to those who chose A in the vote form last chapter...you happy with the end result?


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